Positive findings on bone scan in multiple myeloma

We report a case of multiple myeloma in which the bone lesions showed high uptake of technetium Tc 99m methylene diphosphonate on a bone scan. A review of the literature comparing the usefulness of conventional skeletal radiography and bone scans in diagnosing the osteolytic lesions of myeloma shows that bone scintigraphy, considered by many to have no role in the detection of osteolytic lesions of myeloma, is in fact more sensitive than radiography in detecting lesions in the ribs, scapula, and spine.