ABSTRACT
Metastatic intertrabecular vertebral tumors that infiltrate the marrow space without
trabecular bone alteration are not visible on radiographs or bone scans. To understand
the clinical importance of intertrabecular metastases, their histological and radiological
aspects were reviewed based on an examination using 69 cadavers. Metastatic tumors
were found in 940 of 1653 vertebral bodies. Radiography of the specimen demonstrated
lesions in 485 of 940 vertebral bodies (51.6%). Bone scintigraphy showed lesions in
109 of 415 vertebral bodies (26.3%) with tumors examined within 3 months before autopsy,
whereas magnetic resonance (MR) images detected 132 of 146 (90.4%) lesions. The intertrabecular
metastases were found in 36.9% of the metastatic lesions and was difficult to see
on radiography (5.8%) and bone scans (3.3%) whereas MR images detected most of them
(94.6%). The intertrabecular metastasis is the most common type of skeletal metastases
and is only detectable on MR images.
KEYWORD
Intertrabecular metastasis - skeletal metastasis - bone scan
