Whole-body MRI: a powerful alternative to bone scan for bone marrow staging without radiation and gadolinium enhancer

Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) is a radiation-free alternative to the1256 eligible WB-MRI scans were analyzed retrospectively with a single inclusion criterion, a clinical 12-month follow-up or a biopsy as ground truth. N = 285 patients received both a WB-MRI and a BS within 12 months. All the patients were imaged with a coronal T1w and a STIR, and n = 528 (42%) received an additional T1w-mDixon with gadoteridol (0.1 mmol Gd-DTPA/kg).From 1256 eligible patients, n = 884 (70%) had breast cancer as a primary disease, n = 101(8%) prostate cancer, and n = 77(6%) lung cancer. The sensitivity (Se) and negative predictive value (NPV) of the WB-MRI was 98/99%, significantly higher compared to BS with 82/89%, P 0.001 Mc Nemar's test. The specificity (Spe) and positive predictive value (PPV) of the WB-MRI and BS was 85/82% and 91/86%, respectively. The interobserver agreement between WB-MRI and BS was 71%, Cohen's kappa 0.42. Analysis of the added diagnostic value of gadolinium revealed Se/Spe/PPV/NPV of 98/93/92/98% for the NE WB-MRI and 99/93/85/100% for the WM-MRI + Gd, P 0.05 binary logistic regression with Fischer's exact test.WB-MRI exceeds the sensitivity of BS without compromising the specificity, even after omitting the gadolinium enhancer.