Background: Myxoid liposarcoma occurs in middle age, and is characterized by extrapulmonary metastasis, including bone metastasis. Bone scans and [18F]-2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose-positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) are widely used for assessment of tumor extension, including vertebral metastasis. However, both methods have a low positive rate with regard to vertebral metastasis arising from myxoid liposarcoma. This is particularly true for bone scans for intramedullary lesions that have no cortical involvement.
Case presentation: We present the case of a 53-year-old male with myxoid liposarcoma in the leg. He had been treated for multiple metastases over a ten-year period, and was experiencing back pain due to a pathological fracture in the second lumbar vertebra (L2). Magnetic resonance imaging of all the vertebrae showed abnormal signal intensity suggestive of metastasis in eight vertebrae, and revealed extraskeletal extension in three vertebrae. Bone scans and FDG-PET were negative except for the L2 fracture which was indicated on a bone scan.
Conclusions: Both bone scans and FDG-PET can be negative in cases of vertebral metastasis that arise from myxoid liposarcoma, even when extraskeletal extensions are present. Similarly, even a fractured vertebra may not always be visible on FDG-PET.