Whole-body MR imaging (WBMR) might be better than PET/CT with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) at detecting more myeloma-defining disease and allowing for earlier treatment of it7. The findings were reported in a recent study from King’s College London published in the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging.
Researchers found that MR is sensitive to a lower burden of skeletal disease. WBMR was more sensitive than PET/CT or CT alone for bone marrow infiltration by myeloma, due to its imaging being processed differently within the skeleton. When using WBMR, clinicians made the decision to treat an additional 7% of patients compared to PET/CT. WBMR also changed how patients would have been managed by their doctors in 24% of cases by enabling them to receive treatment earlier, which led to improved outcomes.
Reference
7. Westerland O, Amlani A, Kelly-Morland C, et al. Myeloma Imaging Research Group at Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital, London and King’s College London. Comparison of the diagnostic performance and impact on management of 18F-FDG PET/CT and whole-body MRI in multiple myeloma. Eur J Nucl Med Mol Imaging. 2021 Jan 19. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33469686/.
