Background and Aim : MRI can detect intramedullary infiltration in a manner that has never
seen before. It is also useful in detection of tumor extension, associated soft tissue masses and
neurological compromise. MRI can increase the rate of successful bone marrow biopsies as it
can assess a large volume of bone marrow non-invasively and relatively quickly .The aim of this
study is to assess the role of MRI in the evaluation of bone marrow infiltrative lesions.
Patients and Methods: This study included 30 patients with bone marrow infiltrative lesions; they
were 14 males and 16 females. Age of the patients ranged from 8 to 75 years, (mean 41.5
years).Pain was the commonest symptom in the studied cases followed by swelling
.Patients in our study were examined by plain radiography (15 cases), computed tomography (5
cases), isotopic bone scan in (1 case) and magnetic resonance imaging (all cases).
Results: According to the pathological and radiological results, The lesions in our study are
classified into: Metastasis (12 cases) - Plasma cell dyscrasias (8 cases), including: Multiple
myeloma (6 cases) Plasmacytoma (2 cases) - Lymphoma (7 cases), including: Non Hodgkin's
lymphoma (5 cases) Hodgkin's lymphoma (2 cases) - Ewing's sarcoma (2 cases) - Leukemia
(Chronic lymphatic leukemia) (1 case)
Conclusion: MRI is a sensitive method for detection of areas of marrow infiltration. The value
of MRI lies in its ability to document the presence and extent of disease and determining an
appropriate radiation field. |
