Abdominal manifestations of multiple myeloma: a retrospective radiologic overview.

BACKGROUND

Abdominal manifestations of multiple myeloma (MM) are rare. Herein, the authors study the radiologic characteristics of such involvement because these findings are usually missed by the radiologist and oncologist.

PATIENTS AND

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 202 patients with MM treated at our institution. A total of 192 patients underwent > or = 1 abdominal imaging studies (ultrasound, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging), which were correlated with histopathology, when available.

RESULTS

Eleven patients (5.72%) had lesions within 13 abdominal sites: liver (n = 4); pancreas (n = 3); peritoneum (n = 2); kidney, stomach, adrenal gland, and retroperitoneum (n = 1), respectively. Cytopathologic diagnosis was available in 5 cases. The remaining cases were considered to have myeloma deposits as a result of previous normal studies and the absence of other primary disease. The imaging findings were nonspecific.

CONCLUSION

Myeloma deposits within the abdomen are rare. Although the imaging findings are nonspecific, oncologists and radiologists should be aware of their common characteristics.