Best Imaging Detecting Bone Involvement

a couple of years ago
/ Multiple Myeloma
/ By David Emerson
/ 10 COMMENTS

“In a patient-based analysis, a Cochran’s Q test showed that there are no significant differences in the proportion of (multiple myeloma) patients with bone disease detected by the different scanning techniques…”

Imaging tests for possible bone involvement is central to our health for the rest of our lives as multiple myeloma survivors.

Ahhh, that quoted statement above isn’t true in my experience. It may have been accurate when the statement was first written but that statement is no longer true.

Imaging or scanning technologies for managing multiple myeloma are frequently advancing, changing. Keeping a close eye on your MM, on the amount of monoclonal cells IN your bones is critical to your life as a myeloma survivor.

Research, analysis and personal experience has taught me that newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) patients must learn and draw on both conventional (FDA approved) and evidence-based non-conventional MM therapies to achieve the longest, highest quality of life possible. Multiple myeloma diagnostics are central to that idea.

The one area of MM life that is the exclusive purview of conventional oncology however, is diagnostic testing. Because the vast majority (90%) of MM patients will experience bone involvement at some time during their lives, MM diagnostic imaging to measure bone health will be a regular experience.

Concern for your bone health will also be a significant portion of your Multiple Myeloma management. To learn more about how to optimize your bone health with multiple myeloma diagnostics as well as both conventional and non-conventional therapies, please watch the short video below:

Imaging studies for multiple myeloma fall into the categories below-

multiple myeloma MRI (magnetic resonance imaging)
multiple myeloma CT scan (computed tomography)
multiple myeloma x-ray (simply called “x-ray”)

The study linked and excerpted below seems to come to two different conclusions. My personal experience is that the best combination of:

efficacy/efficiency,
cost,
radiation dose and
ease-of-use/availability

is whole-body x-rays (WBXR). Meaning, my many x-rays were cheap and easy for me. Unfortunately, my oncologist may have misdiagnosed me. Dr. Berger told me that I had a single bone plasmacytoma.

Dr. Makely, the pathologist reported that I definately had MM elsewhere in my iliac crest. Dr. Makely’s diagnosis was confirmed by a PET scan.

If I knew then what I know now…

I am both a long-term MM survivor and MM cancer coach. Please scroll down the page, post a question or comment and I will reply to you ASAP.

Thanks

David Emerson

MM Survivor
MM Cancer Coach
Director PeopleBeatingCancer

A prospective study comparing whole-body skeletal X-ray survey with 18F-FDG-PET/CT, 18F-NaF-PET/CT and whole-body MRI in the detection of bone lesions in multiple myeloma patients

“Background– For decades, the most widely used imaging technique for myeloma bone lesions has been a whole-body skeletal X-ray survey (WBXR), but newer promising imaging techniques are evolving…

Purpose-To compare WBXR with the advanced imaging techniques

18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)
positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT),
18F-sodium fluoride (NaF)
PET/CT and whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI)

in the detection of myeloma bone lesions…

Results-In a region-based analysis, a two-sided ANOVA test showed that the extent of detected skeletal disease depends on the scanning technique…

Tukey’s multiple comparison test revealed that WB-MRI on average detects significantly more affected regions than WBXR, FDG-PET/CT, and NaF-PET/CT.

In a patient-based analysis, a Cochran’s Q test showed that there are no significant differences in the proportion of patients with bone disease detected by the different scanning techniques…

Can multiple myeloma appear on imaging scans?

“Doctors may use X-rays and other imaging tests to diagnose and assess multiple myeloma. For example, MRI scans can provide detailed images that may help doctors detect multiple myeloma in its early stages.

This article looks at how doctors use X-rays and other imaging tests to diagnose and monitor the severity of multiple myeloma…

X-rays can detect bone damage from multiple myeloma, but they lack the precision of certain other tests. Doctors may perform X-rays on most of the body, which they refer to as bone or skeletal surveys.

X-rays can show:

bone loss or thinning
fractures
lesions, which are holes in the bones

X-rays are a quick and easy type of imaging test, but they are poor at detecting bone damage from multiple myeloma. They also lack the sensitivity to show the difference between recent and older bone damage, such as active versus inactive myeloma sites…

Other imaging tests, such as CT or MRI scans, may be more precise than X-rays.

CT scans combine X-rays with computer imagery to provide more detailed 3D images inside the body. They can detect bone damage from multiple myeloma and show precise images of bone lesions…

Summary

X-rays are a cheap and effective way of diagnosing a bone disease and may also be helpful for diagnosing multiple myeloma. However, X-rays have some limitations and are unable to detect early-stage lesions. Doctors may also use other imaging tests for more precise results, such as MRI and CT scans…”

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Best Imaging Detecting Bone Involvement

“In a patient-based analysis, a Cochran’s Q test showed that there are no significant differences in the proportion of (multiple myeloma) patients with bone disease detected by the different scanning techniques…”

Recommended Reading:

A prospective study comparing whole-body skeletal X-ray survey with 18F-FDG-PET/CT, 18F-NaF-PET/CT and whole-body MRI in the detection of bone lesions in multiple myeloma patients

Can multiple myeloma appear on imaging scans?

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