Imaging Recommendations for Diagnosis, Staging, and Management of Hematological Malignancies

Abstract

The NIC defines hematological cancers as those that begin in blood forming tissues such as bone marrow or cells of the immune system and these broadly include three groups: leukemias, lymphomas, and myelomas. The role of imaging is also fundamentally different between the three main groups of hematological malignancies. While imaging is the main tool for staging as well as treatment response assessment in lymphoma, it represents one of several key criteria for the diagnosis and follow-up of myeloma; whereas in leukemia, imaging has a role to play in the detection and management of treatment-related complications which is a crucial part of post-transplant treatment.