title: Contrast enhanced MRI and ¹⁸F-FDG PET-CT in the assessment of multiple myeloma: a comparison of results in different phases of the disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of our study was to compare the accuracy of contrast enhanced MRI and FDG PET-CT in the staging, treatment evaluation and follow-up of multiple myeloma.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively reviewed 210 PET-CT and 210 MRI studies of patients affected by multiple myeloma. MRI was always performed within 15 days of PET-CT. All the images have been evaluated by two expert oncologic radiologists.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patient population included 81 females and 110 males (age 61.9 ± 9.9 years-old). Sixty-two patients have been evaluated at diagnosis, 58 at the end of therapies and 90 during follow-up. In 12/62 patients (19.4%) at diagnosis, differences between MRI and PET-CT findings determined changes in the staging: PET-CT was responsible for 11 down-staging (17.7%) and MRI only for one (1.6%). In 27/40 patients (67.5%) with good or complete clinical response to therapies the normalization of findings was faster for PET-CT than MRI. Ten out of 90 patients (10/90 - 11.1%) in follow-up protocol presented clinical recurrence of the disease: MRI detected active lesions in 8 of them (80.0%) and PET-CT in 5 patients (50.0%, all detected by MRI too).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MRI achieved better results than PET-CT in the staging and in patients with multiple myeloma recurrence. PET-CT, showed prompt change of imaging findings, faster than MRI, in patients with positive response to therapy.
authors.affiliation: Imaging Division, Clinical Department of Radiological and Histocytopathological Sciences, University of Bologna, Sant'Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, Via Massarenti 9, 40138 Bologna, Italy. paolospinnato@email.it
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Spinnato
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bazzocchi
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brioli
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nanni
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zamagni
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Albisinni
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cavo
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fanti
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Battista
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Salizzoni
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003287:Contrast Media; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D005682:Gadolinium; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064847:Multimodal Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D009101:Multiple Myeloma / Q000175:diagnosis*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D019788:Fluorodeoxyglucose F18; D005682:Gadolinium