Recently Diagnosed or Relapsed? Stop Looking For a Miracle Cure, and Use Evidence-Based Therapies To Enhance Your Treatment and Prolong Your Remission
Multiple Myeloma an incurable disease, but I have spent the last 25 years in remission using a blend of conventional oncology and evidence-based nutrition, supplementation, and lifestyle therapies from peer-reviewed studies that your oncologist probably hasn't told you about.
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Finding Lytic Lesions in Myeloma
Finding lytic lesions in myeloma is job one for newly diagnosed MM patients in many ways. And imaging technology has steadily improved to a point where oncology can publish the article below.
The two key issues addressed in the article below are:
- Both X-ray skeletal survey or low-dose whole-body computed tomography (WB-CT) are specified as “are not capable of reliably detecting sub-clinical, or sometimes even symptomatic, MM bone marrow disease.”
- Whole-body (WB) magnetic resonance imaging with diffusion weighting (WB-MRI) or 18-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) are advanced imaging methods,8–10 capable of detecting MM soft tissue inside and outside the bone marrow, prior to the occurrence of irreversible, structural damage…
If you are a newly diagnosed MM patient the “which imaging method is best” debate is now over. If you and your onc. are intent on finding lytic lesions in myeloma, even the smallest lesions, you now know that WB-MRI or FDG-PET imaging is needed.
When I was undergoing active treatment for MM in ’94,’95 and ’96, x-ray skeletal surveys were the standard. My MM exhibited itself primarily through bone involvement aka lytic lesions.
I can’t help wonder if current imaging techniques discussed below would have helped me manage my MM more effectively at the time.
man hand holding his nutritional supplemets, healthy lifestyle background.
Are you a newly diagnosed MM patient? Are you wondering about evidence-based non-conventional bone health therapies? Email me at David.PeopleBeatingCancer@gmail.com
Thank you,
David Emerson
- MM Survivor
- MM Cancer Coach
- Director PeopleBeatingCancer
Advanced imaging for earlier diagnosis and morbidity prevention in multiple myeloma:
Graphical Abstract-
Imaging modalities vary in principle as to whether they record past damage (cortical bone imaging) or actual disease in the bone marrow space. Therefore, bone marrow space imaging, also called advanced imaging herein, offers a high value for comprehensive and early detection of active bone marrow disease and supports preventative patient management, as opposed to traditional multiple myeloma imaging…
INTRODUCTION
Multiple myeloma (MM), also known as plasma cell myeloma, is an ultimately incurable but highly treatable, remitting–relapsing cancer of bone marrow plasma cells.1 When disease growth is uncontrolled, MM frequently causes life-changing lytic bone lesions of the spine, pelvis and long bones, which impair patient health and quality of life and cause cost to the healthcare system.2–6
The risk of lytic bone damage persists, whenever MM is actively growing in the bone marrow, at diagnosis or relapse. In addition, MM extramedullary disease (EMD) growth can cause life-changing morbidity through infiltration and encroachment onto critical organ anatomy, including spinal cord compression.7
Treatment for MM is highly effective in newly diagnosed and relapsed settings, leading to quick responses. In addition to drug treatments, palliative radiotherapy is often highly effective for localised disease control, including for EMD.
In contrast to many other systemic or metastatic malignancies, early detection and treatment of active disease in MM can therefore very effectively prevent permanent damage, both at primary diagnosis and at relapse…
Lytic bone lesions are always preceded by expansion of MM soft tissue within the bone marrow. Updated criteria by the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG) have introduced the concept of imaging-based early diagnosis of marrow soft tissue disease, prior to bone destruction, as a basis for initiating treatment. Likewise, early detection of EMD by imaging offers the prospect of pre-emptive treatment…
Whole-body (WB) magnetic resonance imaging with diffusion weighting (WB-MRI) or 18-Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) are advanced imaging methods,8–10 capable of detecting MM soft tissue inside and outside the bone marrow, prior to the occurrence of irreversible, structural damage…
Structural imaging which is primarily targeted at cortical bone such as X-ray skeletal survey or low-dose whole-body computed tomography (WB-CT) are not capable of reliably detecting sub-clinical, or sometimes even symptomatic, MM bone marrow disease. They only document cortical bone damage when it has already occurred and are without value for early diagnosis. Especially, X-ray skeletal survey is not recommended for standard clinical assessment of MM…