An evaluation of paraffin sections of aspirated bone marrow in malignant lymphomas.

TALBERT COOPER S TUI)IES of the peripheral blood and aspirated bone marm-owiii malignant lymphomas have for the most part proved disappoimitimig imisofar as demonstratiomi of specifically diagnostic features is concerned. Wintm-obem stated that the chief value of bone-marrow’ study in these conditions is to rule outleukemia, especially the aleukemic form. In art attempt to evaluate the climiical usefulness of bomie-marrow aspiratiomi as a meamis of diagmiosis in maligmiantlymphomas, one of us (Cooper) and Watkins reviewed the material available at the Mayo Climiic prior to 1949.2 It was found that marrow’ aspiratiomi w-as of mio help in cases of Hodgkimi’s disease or follicular lymphoma hut that it was of value in some cases of lymphosarcoma. Since this article was written, the examinat-iomi of material obtained by aspiration of bone marrow has included the study of paraffin serial sectiomis of marrow fragments. The present study is undertaken imi order to evaluate this additional procedure in the diagnosis of malignant lymphomas. The literature with regard to results of sternal aspiration in malignant lymphomas has been reviewed by Cooper and Watkins,2 Limarzi and Paul,3 amid one of us (Pease)4 and will miot be reviewed here. Very few’ observers have found the procedure to be of value in these conditions, although miecropsy examinations indicate marrow’ involvement in a high percentage of cases.5 ‘ 6 Significamitly, perhaps, most reports have not included the examinatiomi of paraffimi sections of the aspirated marrow’.