Imaging manifestations of malignant neoplasia mimicking pyogenic osteodiscitis

Malignant neoplasia involving contiguous vertebrae and the corresponding intervertebral discs is a rare occurrence that has similar imaging manifestations as pyogenic osteodiscitis. The authors describe the imaging manifestations of two cases of malignant neoplasia mimicking pyogenic osteodiscitis. We present a case of an 83-year-old male with metastatic non-small cell lung carcinoma and an 82-year-old female with a plasmacytoma, both within the thoracic spine. These cases illustrate how the imaging features of pyogenic osteodiscitis may parallel those of malignant neoplasia.