Bone scans can detect
abnormalities and malignancies in the bones. When bone
scans are performed on prostate cancer patients, the
purpose of the test is to determine whether the prostate
cancer has spread into the bones. If the disease has
spread, it is called prostate cancer bone
metastasis and is denoted by stage M1b in the AJCC
pathological staging for prostate cancer. Bone metastasis
can be treated with radiation which helps to relieve
pain, hormone therapy which slows the spread of the
disease, or chemotherapy which can be used to treat
the bone marrow which are now producing abnormal cells.
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