Prognostic relevance of histological findings on bone marrow biopsy in myelodysplastic syndromes

Bone marrow biopsy (BMB) has aroused growing interest as a possible aid in the diagnostic and prognostic evaluation of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Previous reports have pointed out that MDS patients with blastic aggregates or severe bone marrow (BM) fibrosis are characterized by a worse clinical outcome. BMBs of 106 MDS patients were retrospectively reviewed, and relationships among the different histological parameters as well as clinicopathological correlations were looked for. Three patterns of BM blastic infiltration ("diffuse," "cluster," and "large") were recognized. Overt leukemic transformation and overall survival were selected as prognostic end points. BM infiltration was "diffuse" in 18, "cluster" in 48, and "large" in 40 cases. RAEB-t patients accounted for about half of the "large" cases, and none had a "diffuse" pattern (p < 0.01). Nineteen patients showed extensive BM fibrosis; most of them were characterized by "cluster" blastic infiltration and megakaryocyte hyperplasia. Leukemic transformation occurred in 67% of "large" cases (p< 0.001) and in none of the "cluster" cases with severe BM fibrosis (p < 0.01); however, survival was equally poor in these two groups because of early leukemic transformation (large cases) and BM failure (cluster cases). The FAB classification did not significantly correlate with prognosis. Patients with "cluster" BM infiltration and severe fibrosis can be regarded as a true separate MDS subset characterized by unique clinicopathological and prognostic features. Because of the subacute clinical behavior of most cases, and the poor performance status of many elderly patients, there is still controversy as to the best therapeutic approach in MDS. Histological analysis allowed two groups of MDS patients to be identified, both characterized by poor life expectancy, who could benefit from early aggressive chemotherapy.