I recently had a bone PET/CT scan, and it was written that I have multiple punched out holes and lesions in my skull, and that the punched out holes were most likely from the myeloma.
I would like to know what that means, and if anyone else has been told that they have this also. I asked my oncologist but kind of got the run around from his assistant.
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Rockman29697 - Name: James Swain
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Nov 2015
- Age at diagnosis: 64
Re: Punched out holes in the bones - meaning?
Hi James,
From your earlier posts, it sounds like you already had a diagnosis of multiple myeloma and have already undergone some treatment.
"Punched out holes" is a common way to describe multiple myeloma induced osteolytic (aka "lytic") lesions in the skull. The skull is a pretty common place to develop these types of lesions when one experiences bone damage due to multiple myeloma (the "B" in the multiple myeloma CRAB criteria).
One important question is whether these are new lesions or if you had them earlier. Have you ever had a PET/CT or skeletal survey (full-body xray) or MRI before that showed these "punched out holes" in your skull or are these new developments?
The other important question is whether these lesions have active cancer or not. A PET/CT is good in that it will indicate whether the lesions have an active cancer process going on or or not. If the lesions are "lighting up" on the PET/CT due to FDG (radioactive glucose) uptake, this indicates that the lesions have active cancer cells. If the lesions aren't lighting up, it could be that the lesions are not active and your earlier treatment arrested the cancer at these sites.
If the lesions are active, then they need to be dealt with via a multiple myeloma treatment.
From your earlier posts, it sounds like you already had a diagnosis of multiple myeloma and have already undergone some treatment.
"Punched out holes" is a common way to describe multiple myeloma induced osteolytic (aka "lytic") lesions in the skull. The skull is a pretty common place to develop these types of lesions when one experiences bone damage due to multiple myeloma (the "B" in the multiple myeloma CRAB criteria).
One important question is whether these are new lesions or if you had them earlier. Have you ever had a PET/CT or skeletal survey (full-body xray) or MRI before that showed these "punched out holes" in your skull or are these new developments?
The other important question is whether these lesions have active cancer or not. A PET/CT is good in that it will indicate whether the lesions have an active cancer process going on or or not. If the lesions are "lighting up" on the PET/CT due to FDG (radioactive glucose) uptake, this indicates that the lesions have active cancer cells. If the lesions aren't lighting up, it could be that the lesions are not active and your earlier treatment arrested the cancer at these sites.
If the lesions are active, then they need to be dealt with via a multiple myeloma treatment.
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Multibilly - Name: Multibilly
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Me
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Smoldering, Nov, 2012
Re: Punched out holes in the bones - meaning?
These are some new ones that showed up on the new CT/PET scan. The radiation doctor showed them to me on her computer. They appeared to be small in size. I do not remember as what the color was. I am thinking that they were light gray to almost white. This is the first time this has been mentioned to me in a lab result imaging finding.
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Rockman29697 - Name: James Swain
- Who do you know with myeloma?: Myself
- When were you/they diagnosed?: Nov 2015
- Age at diagnosis: 64
Re: Punched out holes in the bones - meaning?
Hi, James,
My sister had loads of those on her skull upon diagnosis. They became inactive and some actually disappeared following treatment for her multiple myeloma along with Zometa infusions.
My sister had loads of those on her skull upon diagnosis. They became inactive and some actually disappeared following treatment for her multiple myeloma along with Zometa infusions.
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Gala - Name: Gala
- Who do you know with myeloma?: sister, LgA-k
- When were you/they diagnosed?: December 2015
- Age at diagnosis: 48
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