Abstract

Background: The typical imaging finding of MM is bone destruction in the form of diffuse patchy osteolytic lesions or punctate destruction. However, it is difficult to accurately determine the fine structure of bone affected by MM with these techniques due to low specificity and sensitivity.

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the microscopic anatomical morphology and analyze the microstructure changes of trabeculae affected by multiple myeloma (MM) based on micro-CT.

Methods: MM-affected and normal trabecular bone samples were imaged by micro-CT to obtain bone structure parameters to assess statistical differences between them and evaluate the degree of microstructural damage of MM-affected trabeculae.

Results: Micro CT images clearly showed the microstructure of MM-affected trabeculae. The degree of trabecular osteoporosis varied with the severity of MM. There were significant differences in the structural parameters between MM-affected and normal trabeculae (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: Micro-CT clearly reveals the microstructure of MM-affected trabeculae. The obtained bone structure data will help to determine the degree of bone damage caused by MM and assess the efficacy.

Keywords: Multiple myeloma, trabeculae, micro-CT, microarchitecture, pathological osseous tissue, X-ray.