Bone marrow examination has limited value in the staging of patients with an anaplastic large cell lymphoma first presenting in the skin. Retrospective analysis of 107 patients.

BACKGROUND: According to criteria of the World Health Organization-European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer classification for cutaneous lymphomas a diagnosis of primary cutaneous CD30-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma (C-ALCL) should be made only when systemic localizations have been excluded by adequate staging procedures, including a bone marrow biopsy. It has recently been questioned whether or not bone marrow examination should be performed routinely in indolent cutaneous lymphomas such as C-ALCL. Studies addressing this issue have never been performed.
OBJECTIVES: To determine the incidence of bone marrow involvement in patients with an ALCL first presenting in the skin to find out if the current policy to advise bone marrow examination should be maintained or whether a bone marrow biopsy should be performed only in selected cases.
METHODS: All patients presenting with skin lesions with histological and immunophenotypical features of an ALCL were retrieved from the database of the Dutch Cutaneous Lymphoma Group. Patients with a history of systemic ALCL and patients without bone marrow examination were excluded from the study. The final study group included 107 patients with an ALCL first presenting in the skin, who had been staged completely.
RESULTS: Staging procedures showed the presence of extracutaneous disease in 20 patients, but bone marrow involvement was not detected in any of the 107 patients. Moreover, only one patient developed bone marrow involvement during follow up (median follow-up period 69 months).
CONCLUSIONS: Bone marrow examination has limited value in the staging of patients with an ALCL first presenting in the skin, and should be performed only in selected cases.