Evaluation of bone marrow in 143 lymphomas: the relative frequency and pattern of involvement, secondary myelopathies, pitfalls and diagnostic validity.

Unlabelled: The aim of the present study is to assess the frequency of bone marrow (BM) involvement by both bone marrow aspirate and biopsy (BMA and BMB, respectively) procedures in established cases of lymphomas at initial presentation, and to study the relative frequency of marrow disease in relation to lymphoma types, patterns of infiltration and the 2ry associated changes, as well as the diagnostic challenges. Moreover, the diagnostic validity of BMA is tested taking the results of the BMB as the true test results, in order to determine the role of each procedure in the diagnostic approach of marrow infiltration.

Patients And Method: This is a retrospective study carried out on 143 nonconsecutive Egyptian patients with lymphomas obtained from a private series during the years 2005 to 2008.