¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT, ^99mTc-MIBI, and MRI in Evaluation of Patients with Multiple Myeloma

Abstract

In whole-body analysis, (18)F-FDG PET/CT performed better than (99m)Tc-MIBI in the detection of focal lesions, whereas (99m)Tc-MIBI was superior in the visualization of diffuse disease. In the spine and pelvis, MRI was comparable to (18)F-FDG PET/CT and (99m)Tc-MIBI in the detection of focal and diffuse disease, respectively. Because myelomatous lesions may often occur out of spinal and pelvic regions, MRI should be reserved to the evaluation of bone marrow involvement of these districts, whereas (18)F-FDG PET/CT can significantly contribute to an accurate whole-body evaluation of MM patients. Finally, whole-body (99m)Tc-MIBI, despite its limited capacity in detecting focal lesions, may be an alternative option when a PET facility is not available.