Skeletal muscle metastases

Last revised by Francesco Buemi on 8 Mar 2023

Skeletal muscle metastases are uncommon compared to other sites and are generally seen in the context of widespread metastatic disease. 

Post-mortem rates of skeletal metastases vary between 0.03% and 17% 1

Most commonly asymptomatic 2,3

Common primary tumors include 2,3:

Often the primary site is unknown. 

The most common sites for skeletal metastases are 1,3:

  • most commonly an intramuscular hypodense lesion with peripheral enhancement 3,4

Features include 4:

  • T1: isointense to muscle

  • T2: heterogeneous signal with peri-lesion edema

  • C+: peripheral enhancement

Consider a primary soft tissue sarcoma or intramuscular abscess 2,3

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