Review demonstrates the diagnostic utility of whole-body MRI for primary bone tumors, highlighting enhanced skip metastasis detection without ionizing radiation.
Key Points
Evaluate the technical principles, clinical applications, and diagnostic pitfalls of whole-body MRI in the staging and surveillance of primary bone tumors.
Synthesis of technical imaging developments, including Dixon fat suppression and diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI).
Analysis of diagnostic frameworks evaluating primary intraosseous lesions, occult skip metastases, and surveillance protocols in syndromic conditions.
Whole-body MRI enables a radiation-free diagnostic approach that improves detection of occult skip metastases, which occur in ~7.5% of high-grade osteosarcomas and 4.5% of Ewing sarcomas.
The modality facilitates longitudinal monitoring for syndromic conditions like Ollier disease and hereditary multiple exostoses, though challenges remain with pulmonary nodule detection and hematopoietic marrow mimics.