[Bone marrow biopsy: processing and use of molecular techniques]

The rapid technological development in diagnostic pathology, especially of immunohistochemical and molecular techniques, also has a significant impact on diagnostic procedures for the evaluation of bone marrow trephine biopsies. The necessity for optimal morphology, combined with preservation of tissue antigens and nucleic acids on one hand and the wish for short turnaround times on the other hand require careful planning of the workflow for fixation, decalcification and embedding of trephines. Although any kind of bone marrow processing has its advantages and disadvantages, formalin fixation followed by EDTA decalcification can be considered a good compromise, which does not restrict the use of molecular techniques. Although the majority of molecular studies in haematological neoplasms are routinely performed on bone marrow aspirates or peripheral blood cells, there are certain indications, in which molecular studies such as clonality determination or detection of specific mutations need to be performed on the trephine biopsy. Especially, the determination of B- or T-cell clonality for the diagnosis of lymphoid malignancies requires stringent quality controls and knowledge of technical pitfalls. In this review, we discuss technical aspects of bone marrow biopsy processing and the application of diagnostic molecular techniques.