Manabe J

Role of Electroradiography in the Evaluation of Preoperative Treatment for Primary Malignant Bone Tumors

Patients with primary malignant bone tumors usually need preoperative chemotherapy for the treatment of micrometastasis. If the preoperative chemotherapy is not effective, the period of preoperative treatment becomes meaningless, and the best opportunity for limb saving is lost. This makes it highly important to determine the effects of the drug treatment as early as possible. Unfortunately, it is extremely difficult to evaluate the early response of bone lesions to the treatment using conventional radiograms. Consequently, we have recently taken a special interest in electroradiography which makes it possible to detect the extraskeletal mass shadow of a bone lesion in fine detail since it is relatively easy to obtain electroradiographic images. Therefore, we have been comparatively evaluating the effects of preoperative treatment using conventional radiograms, CAT scans, isotope bone scans, and electroradiography.