Frequency of bone marrow involvement in Hodgkin's lymphoma on first presentation.

OBJECTIVE To determine the frequency of bone marrow involvement in patients of Hodgkin's lymphoma on first presentation at oncology department. STUDY DESIGN Case series. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY The Oncology Department, Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, from April 2006 to February 2007. METHODOLOGY Thirty five patients of Hodgkin's lymphoma diagnosed on lymph node biopsy presenting for the first time at Oncology Department, Combined Military Hospital, Rawalpindi were included. They were admitted in the ward and evaluated with history, physical examination and staging investigations. Bone marrow trephine biopsy was performed in all patients. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data. RESULTS On clinical and radiological evaluation, 8 patients (22.9%) had clinical stage (CS), 12 (34.3%) had CS II, 9 (25.7%) had CS III and 6 (17.1%) had CS IV. The microscopic appearance in bone marrow trephine examination showed lymphoma infiltrates in 6 (17.14%) patients and chronic disorder in 29 (82.85%) patients. Among patients with bone marrow infiltration, one had CS II disease, three had CS III disease and two had CS IV disease. One patient had bone marrow infiltration as the only manifestation of disease. CONCLUSION Bone marrow involvement was seen in patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma clinical stage II or higher.