Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WBMRI) versus whole-body computed tomography (WBCT) for myeloma imaging and staging

Myeloma-associated bone disease (MBD) develops in about 80-90% of patients and severely affects their quality of life, as it accounts for the majority of mortality and morbidity. Imaging in multiple myeloma (MM) and MBD is of utmost importance in order to detect bone and bone marrow lesions as well as extraosseous soft-tissue masses and complications before the initiation of treatment. It is required for determination of the stage of disease and aids in the assessment of treatment response. Whole-body low-dose computed tomography (WBLDCT) is the key modality to establish the initial diagnosis of MM and is now recommended as reference standard procedure for the detection of lytic destruction in MBD. In contrast, whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WBMRI) has higher sensitivity for the detection of focal and diffuse plasma cell infiltration patterns of the bone marrow and identifies them prior to osteolytic destruction. It is recommended for the evaluation of spinal and vertebral lesions, while functional, diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI-MRI) is a promising tool for the assessment of treatment response. This review addresses the current improvements and limitations of WBCT and WBMRI for diagnosis and staging in MM, underlining the fact that both modalities offer complementary information. It further summarizes the corresponding radiological findings and novel technological aspects of both modalities

Three-Dimensional High-Resolution Black-Blood Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Detection of Arteritic Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy in Patients With Giant Cell Arteritis

Objectives: Arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (A-AION) caused by inflammatory occlusion of the posterior ciliary arteries is the most common reason for irreversible vision loss in patients with giant cell arteritis. Atypical clinical presentation and negative funduscopy can delay systemic high-dose corticosteroid therapy to prevent impending permanent blindness and involvement of the contralateral eye. The purpose of this study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of 3-dimensional (3D) high-resolution T1-weighted black-blood magnetic resonance imaging (T1-BB-MRI) for the detection of posterior ciliary artery involvement in patients with giant cell arteritis and funduscopic A-AION. Materials and Methods: After institutional review board approval and informed consent, 27 patients with suspected giant cell arteritis and vision disturbances were included in this monocentric prospective cohort study. Giant cell arteritis was diagnosed in 18 patients according to the diagnostic reference standard (6 men, 73.8 [69.0-78.0] years);14 of those were positive for A-AION. Precontrast and postcontrast 3D T1-BB-MRI was performed in all 27 patients. Two radiologists separately assessed image quality and local fat suppression (4-point scale), visual contrast enhancement (3-point scale), and diagnostic confidence (5-point scale) regarding arteritic posterior ciliary artery involvement. Magnetic resonance imaging findings were assessed in comparison to funduscopy. Statistical analysis included accuracy parameters and interrater agreement. Results: Sensitivity of 3D T1-BB-MRI was 92.9% (95% confidence interval, 66.1%-99.8%) and specificity was 92.3% (95% confidence interval, 64.0%-99.8%) for detection of A-AION-positive patients. Image quality and local fat suppression were assessed with 3.2 +/- 0.8 (median 3) and 3.8 +/- 0.5 (median 4). Visual contrast enhancement with 2.3 +/- 0.8 (median 3) and diagnostic confidence was rated at 4.7 +/- 0.5 (median 5). Interrater agreement was high (kappa = 0.85, P < 0.001). Three-dimensional T1-BB-MRI displayed bilateral findings in 50% of the cases, whereas only unilateral A-AION was detected in funduscopy as a possible indication for the contralateral eye at risk. Conclusions: Three-dimensional T1-BB-MRI allows accurate detection of arteritic posterior ciliary artery involvement in patients with A-AION. Further, 3D T1-BB-MRI seems to display arteritic involvement of the posterior ciliary arteries earlier than funduscopy and might, therefore, display "vision-at-risk" in patients with visual impairment and suspected giant cell arteritis but unremarkable funduscopy

Multiple Sclerosis: Improved Detection of Active Cerebral Lesions With 3-Dimensional T1 Black-Blood Magnetic Resonance Imaging Compared With Conventional 3-Dimensional T1 GRE Imaging

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of a modified high-resolution whole-brain three-dimensional T1-weighted black-blood sequence (T1-weighted modified volumetric isotropic turbo spin echo acquisition [T1-mVISTA]) in comparison to a standard three-dimensional T1-weighted magnetization-prepared rapid gradient echo (MP-RAGE) sequence for detection of contrast-enhancing cerebral lesions in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS).& para;& para;Materials and Methods: After institutional review board approval and informed consent, 22 patients (8 men;aged 31.0 +/- 9.2 years) with relapsing-remitting MS were included in this monocentric prospective cohort study.& para;& para;Contrast-enhanced T1-mVISTA and MP-RAGE, both with 0.8 mm(3) resolution, were performed in all patients. In a substudy of 12 patients, T1-mVISTA was compared with a T1-mVISTA with 1.0 mm(3) resolution (T1-mVISTA_1.0). Reference lesions were 2-defined by an experienced neuroradiologist using all available sequences and served as the criterion standard. T1-mVISTA, T1-mVISTA_1.0, and MP-RAGE sequences were read in random order 4 weeks apart. Image quality, visual contrast enhancement, contrast-to-noise-ratio (CNR), diagnostic confidence, and lesion size were assessed and compared by Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney U tests.& para;& para;Results: Eleven of 22 patients displayed contrast-enhancing lesions. Visual contrast enhancement, CNR, and diagnostic confidence of contrast-enhancing MS lesions were significantly increased in T1-mVISTA compared with MP-RAGE (P < 0.001). Significantly more contrast-enhancing lesions were detected with T1-mVISTA than with MP-RAGE (71 vs 39, respectively;P < 0.001). With MP-RAGE, 25.6% of lesions were missed in the initial reading, whereas only 4.2% of lesions were missed with T1-mVISTA. Increase of the voxel volume from 0.8 mm to 1.0 mm isotropic in T1-mVISTA_1.0 did not affect the detect-ability of lesions, whereas scan time was decreased from 4:43 to 1:55 minutes.& para;& para;Conclusions: Three-dimensional T1-mVISTA improves the detection rates of contrast-enhancing cerebral MS lesions compared with conventional 3D MP-RAGE sequences by increasing CNR of lesions and might, therefore, be useful in patient management