Does heterogeneous bone marrow mean cancer?

Does heterogeneous bone marrow mean cancer?

In a retrospective study of patients whose MRI report stated that their marrow signal was “abnormal” or “heterogeneous,” roughly 50% received a definitive diagnosis, of which 25% were found to have a malignancy (e.g., lung cancer, breast cancer, lymphoma, or multiple myeloma).

What does heterogeneity of bone marrow mean?

Summary: The emerging concept is that the bone marrow environment is composed of multiple microniches, each consisting of unique pairing of distinct supportive stromal cells with distinct hematopoietic subtypes to regulate a particular branch of hematopoietic cell process.

What does heterogeneous signal mean?

Heterogeneous refers to a structure with dissimilar components or elements, appearing irregular or variegated. For example, a dermoid cyst has heterogeneous attenuation on CT. It is the antonym for homogeneous, meaning a structure with similar components.

Can MRI detect bone marrow cancer?

For the first time, researchers have shown that using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) can effectively identify bone marrow cancer (myelofibrosis) in an experimental model.

What Does abnormal bone marrow on an MRI mean?

MRI examination demonstrated abnormal signals in the bone marrow in large areas of the right pelvis, indicating increased water content and a decreased proportion of fat. These changes could not be explained simply by local bone marrow hyperplasia (Figure 3), thus raising strong suspicion for a hematologic malignancy.

What is bone marrow abnormalities?

Blood and bone marrow disorders are diagnosed when the level of certain blood cells is too low or too high, or the blood cells are abnormal. Blood cells that cannot carry out their normal functions can affect your entire quality of life.

What is a heterogeneous abnormal marrow signal?

Home › World View › What Is Heterogeneous Abnormal Marrow Signal? What Is Heterogeneous Abnormal Marrow Signal? Heterogeneous abnormal marrow signal is what oncologists look for on a magnetic resonance image of a patient’s bone as a possible indication of a malignancy, says the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

What does heterogenous in signal on an MRI mean?

Not the same: Homogenous means the appearance is all the same, like a bowl of milk is all white or charcoal is all black. Heterogenous means the appearance is different like salt and pepper. Its just a descripti: Description of what the doctor saw.

Which is focal bone marrow retains high signal?

On STIR, vertebral hemangiomas retain some high signal, unlike areas of focal fatty marrow which exhibit signal dropout Thickened trabeculae may be seen as linear/punctate signal-void areas