Whole body imaging in musculoskeletal oncology: when, why, and how.

Abstract

The use of whole-body imaging has become increasingly popular in oncology due to the possibility of evaluating total tumor burden with a single imaging study. This is particularly helpful in cases of widespread disease where dedicated regional imaging would make the evaluation more expensive, time consuming, and prone to more risks. Different techniques can be used, including whole-body MRI, whole-body CT, and PET-CT. Common indications include surveillance of cancer predisposing syndromes, evaluation of osseous metastases and clonal plasma cell disorders such as multiple myeloma, and evaluation of soft tissue lesions, including peripheral nerve sheath tumors. This review focuses on advanced whole-body imaging techniques and their main uses in musculoskeletal oncology.