Role of staging bone marrow examination in children with Hodgkin disease

Abstract

Purpose To determine the value of bone marrow trephine biopsy as part of the clinical staging for children presenting with Hodgkin disease. Patients and Methods A retrospective study of pre-treatment bone marrow examinations was undertaken to examine the value of bone marrow staging in children with Hodgkin disease. The records of 122 children, diagnosed with Hodgkin disease at Texas Children's Hospital between February 1960 and July 1996, were reviewed. Age, sex, complete blood counts (CBC), pathology, and clinical and pathological staging results were tabulated. Results Information was complete for analysis in 110 patients. Bone marrow trephine biopsies identified Hodgkin disease in 2/110 patients (1.8%). The patients with bone marrow disease had clinical stage IIIB disease pre-biopsy. Positive bone marrow biopsy results did not effect a change in therapy, and the small number of positive cases do not allow any prediction as to prognosis. Conclusion There is no role for bone marrow trephine examination in children with clinical stage I-IIIA Hodgkin disease. Med. Pediatr. Oncol. 30:175–177, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.