Resolution of bone scan changes in hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy in untreated carcinoma of the lung.

The bone scan appearance of hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy (HPO) in patients with pulmonary neoplasms and a variety of other lesions has been described by several investigators. It is well known that after therapy, the bone scan changes resolve. This report deals with a patient who had no therapy for a pulmonary neoplasm. In a study done three months later, changes in his initial bone scan that had suggested pulmonary osteoarthropathy had resolved completely, even though the patient had no treatment for his carcinoma.