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CASE REPORT article

Front. Oncol.

Sec. Cancer Imaging and Image-directed Interventions

Volume 15 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1640981

Hepatic Involvement as an Initial Manifestation of Multiple Myeloma: A Case Report with Atypical Imaging Features

Provisionally accepted
Zongsheng  PuZongsheng Pu1Lujiang  ZhanLujiang Zhan1Yimi  ZhaYimi Zha1Yilin  LiYilin Li2Shilin  QiuShilin Qiu1Yinfu  HeYinfu He1Yanhong  YangYanhong Yang1*Zaihui  FengZaihui Feng1*Xingxing  ZhuXingxing Zhu1*
  • 1Department of Radiology, The Third People's Hospital of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Gejiu, China
  • 2Department of Pathology, The Third People's Hospital of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Gejiu, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

Hepatic involvement as the initial manifestation of multiple myeloma (MM) is exceedingly rare and presents significant diagnostic challenges due to its heterogeneous imaging features, which often mimic metastatic liver tumors. We report a case of a 62-year-old man presenting with right upper quadrant discomfort. Imaging revealed a hypoechoic lesion in segment II of the liver on ultrasound, a low-density area with mild enhancement on contrast-enhanced CT, and atypical MRI features including hyperintensity on T1-and T2-weighted images, mild diffusion restriction on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), and minimal enhancement post-Gd-DTPA administration. Histopathology demonstrated diffuse infiltration of atypical plasma cells consistent with plasmacytoma, supported by immunohistochemical positivity for CD138, CD38, MUM1, and CD56, and an elevated serum β₂-microglobulin level, confirming the diagnosis of MM with hepatic involvement. This case underscores the variability of extramedullary myeloma (EM) imaging presentations in the liver and highlights the importance of including EM in the differential diagnosis of atypical hepatic lesions, especially when accompanied by osteolytic bone lesions or abnormal serum markers. Histopathological confirmation remains essential for definitive diagnosis and guiding treatment

Keywords: Multiple Myeloma, Hepatic involvement, imaging, Extramedullary myeloma, differential diagnosis

Received: 19 Jun 2025; Accepted: 26 Aug 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Pu, Zhan, Zha, Li, Qiu, He, Yang, Feng and Zhu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Yanhong Yang, Department of Radiology, The Third People's Hospital of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Gejiu, China
Zaihui Feng, Department of Radiology, The Third People's Hospital of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Gejiu, China
Xingxing Zhu, Department of Radiology, The Third People's Hospital of Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture, Gejiu, China

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