Predictive value of 18 F‐ FDG PET / CT scanning in combination with clinical parameters in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma

Objective To evaluate the association of 18 F‐2′‐deoxy 2′‐fluorodeoxyglucose ( 18 F‐ FDG ) PET / CT with clinical parameters in predicting patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma ( MM ). Methods A total of 120 MM patients undergoing 18 F‐ FDG PET / CT scanning were analyzed in a retrospective cohort study. Results Based on multivariate analysis, β2M, LDH , number of focal lesions ( FL s), and SUV max were significantly correlated with OS . These 4 variables were used to construct a new staging system ( NSS ) based on the number of risk factors. NSS provided a better discrimination of risk between stages III and II than International staging system ( ISS ) ( P  <   .001 vs P  =   .086). For OS , there was no significant difference among risk groups in Durie‐Salmon ( DS ) stage ( P  >   .05). Based on Spearman correlation analysis, the presence of lesions in appendicular skeleton, number of FL s, and SUV max appeared to indicate advanced stage of MM . ROC curves which showed the combination of β2M with calcium got a specificity of 96.3% for lesions in appendicular skeleton, and LDH alone had 100% specificity in predicting the number of FL s, although the sensitivity was only 50%. Conclusions 18 F‐ FDG PET / CT in combination with clinical parameters provided an accurate and simple method for risk stratification of patients with newly diagnosed MM .