Bone marrow biopsy in the initial staging of Hodgkin's disease

✍ Scribed by Doll, Donald C. ;Ringenberg, Q. Scott ;Anderson, Sharon P. ;Hewett, John E. ;Yarbro, John W.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1989
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 459 KB
• Volume: 17
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0098-1532
• DOI: 10.1002/mpo.2950170102

✦ Synopsis

Results of bone marrow biopsy were retrospectively evaluated in 120 previously untreated patients with Hodgkin's disease. The incidence of bone marrow involvement was 13%. All patients with marrow invasion had B symptoms and/or clinically advanced disease. When patients with bone marrow involvement were compared to those without there were significant differences in the incidence of B symptoms, the clinical stage, hemoglobin levels, leukocyte counts, platelet counts, and serum levels of lactate dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase. None of 59 patients with clinical stage IA and IIA had evidence of marrow invasion. This study demonstrates that trephine bone marrow biopsy is of value in detecting marrow involvement in specific subgroups of untreated patients with Hodgkin's disease, i.e., those patients with constitutional symptoms and/or clinical stage Ill or IV. However, bone marrow biopsy adds little to the initial staging of patients with clinical stage IA and IIA. Routine use of this procedure in such patients may be unnecessary.