title: Bilateral bone-marrow examinations in small-cell anaplastic carcinoma of the lung.
abstract: Bilateral bone-marrow examinations from the posterior iliac crests were routinely performed as a pretreatment staging procedure in 89 consecutive patients with small-cell anaplastic carcinoma of the lung. Bone-marrow involvement was found in 20 patients (22.5%), in 9 (10.1%) only on one side, and in 11 (12.4%) on both sides. Aspiration was found to be significantly superior to biopsy, being positive in 25 examinations as compared with 14 positive biopsies. Compared with unilateral bone-marrow examination the positive findings increased by approximately 30%. Bilateral bone-marrow examinations are recommended in patients in whom the detection of bone-marrow metastases will have therapeutic implications.
mesh_terms: D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000473:pathology*; D001859:Bone Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007085:Ilium; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009362:Neoplasm Metastasis