Bone marrow metastases: a survey of nonhematologic metastases with immunohistochemical study of metastatic carcinomas

With current therapies and imaging methods, staging bone marrow biopsies, and subsequently found metastases to the bone marrow, are less frequent. Historically, the most common metastatic nonhematologic tumors to the bone marrow in adult and pediatric patients included breast carcinoma, neuroblastoma, prostatic carcinoma, Ewing sarcoma, and lung tumors. Although the staining patterns of these primary tumors have been extensively examined, the utility of these immunohistochemical profiles has not been studied in the context of metastatic lesions to the bone marrow. In our review of 111 metastases to the bone marrow over an 18-year period, the most common primary tumor types are, in order of frequency: breast carcinoma, neuroblastoma, lung tumors, rhabdomyosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, prostate carcinoma, and gastrointestinal tract tumors. Additionally, in an analysis of 44 adult metastatic carcinomas, we confirm that immunohistochemical panels are useful in identifying the primary tumor site. Overall, the immunohistochemical characterization of metastatic carcinomas to the bone marrow show good correlation with the established staining pattern of the primary tumors.