Response evaluation of bone metastasis in prostate cancer: Preliminary comparison of computerized bone scan index versus standardized clinical criteria

Objective: The correlation between the computer-assisted bone scan index (BSI) responses versus clinical response dassification if bone metastases in prostate cancer patients are not clear. We compared changes in BSI with Prostate Cancer Working Group-3 (PCWG3) and MD Anderson (MDA) criteria. Materials and Methods: Fifty-six consecutive patients with at least two bone scans (BS) within 12 months were included, who had BS before and after treatment with the same anticancer agent. Results: Progressive disease (PD) by PCWG3 criteria was seen in 28% of the cases (median BSI increased by 1.69 units) versus non-PD in 72% (BSI change -0.13). MD Anderson showed PD in 34% (BSI increase 0.49), 45% stable disease (BSI change 0.00), and 20% partial responses (BSI decrease 1.44). Absolute BSI changes differed significantly among response categories by PCWG3 and MDA criteria (both P<0.0001). Response classification using dichotomized BSI data (>0/<= 0 and >0.3/<= 0.3 BSI units) showed a significant correlation with PCWG3 and MDA criteria (all P<0.001). Absolute BSI changes and dichotomized BSI correlated to prostate-specific antigen responses (both P< 0.001) but not to clinical responses. Conclusion: Absolute changes in BSI and BSI response classification correlated significantly with standardized dinical response criteria for the assessment of treatment responses of skeletal metastases in prostate cancer