The Study
Multiple Myeloma and Smoldering Myeloma: Prospective Evaluation of 3 T Whole Body MRI and 18F-FDG PET/CT and Their Impact on Clinical Management
This study looked at two kinds of scans to see which one finds more bone problems in people with a type of blood cancer. It doesn’t prove one scan is better than the other—it just shows they sometimes give different results. We can’t say one scan causes better treatment, only that they’re linked to different findings.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
Doctors used two kinds of scans—MRI and PET—to look for cancer in bones and marrow in people with a blood cancer called multiple myeloma. The MRI found more hidden signs of cancer, even when the PET scan missed them, and sometimes found other serious problems like spinal cord pressure.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 529 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes—missing cancer signs can delay life-saving treatment, so using MRI can help doctors act faster and avoid dangerous delays.
- 2MRI found more bone marrow cancer than PET scans.
- 3Together, both scans changed treatment plans more often than either alone.
- 4About 1 in 10 times, MRI found cancer that PET missed.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Blood
Year
2024
Authors
C. Cerchione, D. Bezzi, D. Nappi, Matteo Marchesini, A. Prochowski Iamurri, P. Caroli, A. Cattabriga, D. Cangini, G. Feliciani, Emiliano Loi, Federica Matteucci, Domenico Barone, S. Ronconi, M. Ceccolini, G. Musuraca, N. Normanno, G. Martinelli, A. Rossi
Related Content
Claims (6)
When doctors use two different scans to check for bone damage in multiple myeloma, they usually get the same results—but about 1 in 10 times, the MRI sees something the PET/CT scan misses.
A full-body MRI scan is better at spotting early signs of bone marrow cancer in certain types of myeloma than the PET/CT scan, especially when the cancer looks spread out in tiny spots — and this might change how doctors decide to treat patients.
When doctors use both a full-body MRI and a special PET/CT scan together to check for multiple myeloma, they’re more likely to change the patient’s treatment plan than if they only use one scan alone.
A full-body MRI scan can find serious hidden health problems—like possible cancer or spinal issues—in people with certain types of blood cancer, even when a different scan called FDG-PET/CT misses them.
For some people with an early form of blood cancer called smoldering myeloma, a special full-body scan (MRI) can spot hidden cancer cells in the bone marrow—even when there are no visible tumors—and this might help doctors decide to start treatment sooner.
Sometimes, a full-body MRI scan might miss a serious problem, making doctors think everything’s fine when it’s not — and that delay could lead to really bad health results.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.