Laboratory evaluation of bone marrow metastasis - Single institute study

Background : The incidence of bone marrow (BM) metastasis might be related with the occurrence of malignant tumors in ethnic groups. So, we investigated the type and the frequency of metastatic tumors of BM and analyzed the clinicopathologic variables of BM metastasis. Methods : This study included 932 cases of primary malignant tumor which were requested for BM study from January 1995 to June 2006 in Chonnarn National University Hospital and Chonnarn National University Hwasun Hospital. Peripheral blood smears (PBS); aspirates, touch prints, and trephine biopsies of BM; and medical records including other laboratory test results were reviewed. Results : Overall frequency of BM metastasis was 11.9% (111/932). Primary tumors with BM involvement in children comprised neuroblastoma (74.1%), rhabdomyosarcoma (7.4%), and malignant lymphoma (7.4%). For adult patients, they consisted of malignant lymphoma (56.0%), gastrointestinal cancer (20.2%), and lung cancer (6,0%). In the case of malignant lymphoma, diffuse large cell lymphoma was the most frequent one. Laboratory findings of patients with BM metastasis commonly showed anemia and thrombocytopenia; in addition, serum LD, ALP, AST and ALT were elevated in 81.5% (75/92), 63.4% (59/93), 63.5% (61/96) and 33.3% (32/96), respectively. Leukoerythroblastosis was observed only in 19.8% (221111) on PBS examination. Conclusions: The most common non-hematopoietic metastatic tumor was neuroblastoma in children and gastrointestinal tumors in adults. Leukoerythroblastosis, anemia, and the elevation of serum LD, ALP, and AST were useful markers for the prediction of BM metastasis.