Open Access
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · J Lab Physicians 2023; 15(01): 069-077
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1751318
Original Article

Challenges Encountered and Pattern-Based Analysis of Bone Marrow Biopsy in Lymphomas: An Institutional Experience

Authors

  • Supreet Kaur Kalra

    1   Department of Pathology, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (a unit of Tata Memorial Centre), Sangrur, Punjab, India
  • Sankalp Sancheti

    1   Department of Pathology, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (a unit of Tata Memorial Centre), Sangrur, Punjab, India
  • Puneet Kaur Somal

    1   Department of Pathology, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (a unit of Tata Memorial Centre), Sangrur, Punjab, India
  • Akash Pramod Sali

    1   Department of Pathology, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (a unit of Tata Memorial Centre), Sangrur, Punjab, India
  • Aishwarya Sharma

    1   Department of Pathology, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (a unit of Tata Memorial Centre), Sangrur, Punjab, India
  • Alok Goel

    2   Department of Medical Oncology, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (a unit of Tata Memorial Centre), Sangrur, Punjab, India
  • Shivani Jain

    2   Department of Medical Oncology, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (a unit of Tata Memorial Centre), Sangrur, Punjab, India
  • Tapas Kumar Dora

    3   Department of Radiation Oncology, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (a unit of Tata Memorial Centre), Sangrur, Punjab, India
  • Ashish Gulia

    4   Department of Surgical Oncology, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (a unit of Tata Memorial Centre), Sangrur, Punjab, India
  • Jigeeshu V. Divetia

    4   Department of Surgical Oncology, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (a unit of Tata Memorial Centre), Sangrur, Punjab, India
    5   Department of Anaesthesiology, Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (a unit of Tata Memorial Centre), Sangrur, Punjab, India

Abstract

Objective The evaluation of bone marrow (BM) status is an integral part of the initial workup of patients diagnosed with lymphoma as it plays an important role in staging and predicting prognosis in these patients. This article determines the incidence and pattern of BM involvement in lymphoma cases and distinguishes benign from malignant lymphoid aggregates in BM biopsies.

Materials and Methods The study group included 121 cases of Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas for which BM biopsies were performed, fixed in acetic acid-zinc formalin solution, decalcified using 10% formic acid, and subjected to hematoxylin and eosin and immunohistochemistry.

Results The overall incidence of BM biopsy involvement in our study was 31.4% (37/118), including 34.7% (35/101) in cases of B cell lymphomas, 25% (2/8) in cases of T cell lymphomas, and no involvement in Hodgkin lymphoma. The predominant histological pattern of BM involvement was diffused (14/37; 37.8%), followed by interstitial (10/37; 27.1%). Five cases revealed benign nonparatrabecular lymphoid aggregates which could be confused with lymphomatous involvement, especially in low grade lymphomas.

Conclusion A careful examination of the BM biopsies along with clinical history, peripheral blood examination, flow cytometry, and immunohistochemistry will help in arriving at the correct diagnosis.



Publication History

Article published online:
17 August 2022

© 2022. The Indian Association of Laboratory Physicians. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Pvt. Ltd.
A-12, 2nd Floor, Sector 2, Noida-201301 UP, India