Bone marrow study of 128 bronchogenic carcinoma patients in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Background and Aim of study: Bronchogenic carcinoma has emerged as the most common form of malignant disease globally. Plenty treatment options are available, yet survival rate is substantially low. The stage of disease is an important prognostic parameter and guiding factor for therapeutic decisions & treatment related mortality. The aim of our study was to detect metastatic deposit in marrow, detect correlation of hematological picture with bonemarrow involvement and assess degree of marrow fibrosis. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study comprising of 128 diagnosed patients of bronchogenic carcinoma devoid of known metastatic spread. Patients were subjected to clinic-radiological assesement and biochemical parameters. The patients were subjected to bonemarrow aspiration & trephine biopsy for histopathology. Main findings: Bonemarrow metastatic deposits were found in 12 cases (9.37%) in both bone marrow trephine biopsy and aspirate. Aspiration was unable to detect metastasis in 2 cases (likely due to extensive myelofibrosis) where trephine biopsy was useful. Hematological and biochemical parameters showed statistically significant difference in LDH (p= 0.0011) and uric acid level (p=0.0001) in metastatis positive and negative group. Conclusion reached: We emphasized that cytological and histological examination of bonemarrow be considered as useful and safe pre-treatment staging procedures in bronchogenic carcinoma because early detection of sites of metastatic spread provides prognostic information.

Keywords

• bronchogenic carcinoma
• bone marrow biopsy
• hematological correlation