Bone marrow necrosis in 38 adult cancer patients

From 1977 to 1990, 40 cases of bone marrow necrosis (BMN) were diagnosed among 10,856 (0.37%) consecutive bone marrow aspirations performed alone or with biopsy. All but two patients had underlying malignancies. Leukemia, nasopharyngeal cancer and cancer of unknown origin were the most common underlying diseases. Severe bone pain and fever were the predominant presenting symptoms. Anemia, schistocytes and leukoerythroblastosis were noted in the peripheral blood smears in 97% (37/38), 72% (22/32), and 66% (23/35) of the patients with cancer and BMN. Malignant cells were found in bone marrow aspirates or biopsy specimens in all but one of the patients. Varied degrees of disseminated intravascular coagulation were demonstrated in all of the 10 patients examined who displayed coagulation status. Four of seven patients with leukemia achieved complete remission after chemotherapy, and the survival time for the complete responders ranged from 10 months to eight years. The outcome of cancer patients with BMN who did not respond to chemotherapy was poor, with a median survival time of six weeks.