Bone Metabolism of the Patient with a Malignant Melanoma during the Entry Examination and the Check-up of Whole-body Bone Scintigraphy

Abstract

Malignant melanoma is a malignancy located predominantly in the skin and the incidence of melanoma increases. We compared the markers of bone metabolism – osteocalcin (OC), beta-carboxyterminal cross-linked telopeptide of type I collagen (β-CrossLaps, β-CTx) and tumour marker – human epididymis protein 4 (HE4) in the serum with finding during the entry examination and the check-up of whole-body bone scintigraphy of the patient with a malignant melanoma. Serum concentrations of OC, β-CTx, HE4 were determined in 1 patient (female, age 64 years) with malignant melanoma and correlated with the presence of equivocal bone metastases detected by whole-body bone scintigraphy (the entry examination and check-up after 6 months). Concentrations of bone metabolism markers decreased during six months and we observed progress in bone metastases. The change of the markers levels during the entry examination and the check-up of the whole-body bone scintigraphy with equivocal finding of bone metastases could be a sign of a possible initiating progression of malignant melanoma despite a clinically negative finding that does not prove the progression of the disease.

Keywords

• Malignant melanoma
• Bone scintigraphy
• Osteocalcin
• Beta-carboxyterminal cross-linked telopeptide of type I collagen
• Human epididymis protein 4