Relationship of Plasma Cell Infiltration Rates with ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT Data and Hematological Parameters in Multiple...

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between the degree of bone marrow involvement, hematological parameters, and ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose (¹⁸F-FDG)-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) data in patients diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

A total of 71 patients [19 females, 52 males, mean age 67 (36-83) years] who were diagnosed with multiple myeloma between 2014 and 2021, had not received any treatment yet, and underwent ¹⁸F-FDG-PET/CT for staging were included in the study.

No significant correlation was observed between bone marrow standardized uptake value (SUV)_max and plasma cell infiltration (p=0.07). However, we found that patients with visually increased bone marrow counts also had higher plasma cell infiltration rates (p=0.037). No significant correlation was found between plasma cell infiltration rates and bone marrow SUV_max and systemic inflammatory index (SII) (p=0.187 and p=0.446, respectively). However, there was a significant correlation between the SUV_max of lytic lesions showing increased ¹⁸F-FDG uptake in bone and SII (p=0.025, r=0.330).

We believe that ¹⁸F-FDG PET/CT may be an advantage over bone marrow biopsy in the diagnosis and evaluation of multiple myeloma recurrence and may prevent repeated bone marrow biopsies.