Frequency of bone marrow involvement in non-haematological malignancies

Five hundred and fifty two bone marrow (BM) specimens (497 aspirates, 55 biopsies) from 518 patients with nonhaematological malignancies were examined to determine the frequency of metastatic deposits. BM involvement was highest in neuroblastoma (9/14), prostate cancer (2/4), retinoblastoma (3/7), Ewing's sarcoma (14/47), rhabdomyosarcoma (5/20) and small cell carcinoma of lung (3/18). BM aspiration smears were adequate in paediatric tumours (neuroblastoma, retinoblastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma) while BM biopsies were most useful in patients with Ewing's sarcoma, prostate cancer and small cell lung cancer. We conclude that BM is an easy investigation in the diagnosis and staging of nonhaematological cancers.