[Histologic and hematological findings in CML. A comparative immunohistochemical-morphometric and clinical study on bone marrow biopsies from 604 patients derived from two institutes of pathology (Cologne/Freiburg)]

Abstract

An immunohistochemical and morphometric study was performed on bone marrow biopsies in 604 patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) to compare morphological and clinical features and to evaluate effects of interferon (IFN) and chemotherapy. Following morphometry significant correlations were calculated between number of CD61(+) megakaryocytes, including their precursors with fiber density. This finding is in line with the close functional relationship between megakaryopoiesis and fibroblasts regarding the complex pathomechanism of myelofibrosis. The latter was observed in about 28% of patients already at diagnosis. In a similar way, the frequency of CD68(+) macrophages was correlated with the amount of Ret40f(+) nucleated erythroid precursors, implicating an involvement of this cell lineage in iron turnover, hemoglobin synthesis, and degradation of the expelled nuclei from normoblasts. The (alpha-D-galactosyl residue-expressing) Pseudo-Gaucher cells were detectable in 30% of pretreatment specimens. Moreover, significant associations were calculable between reduction in erythropoiesis or increase in fibers with clinical features such as hemoglobin level, percentages of myelo- and erythroblasts in the peripheral blood, and spleen size. These variables are in keeping with more advanced stages of CML. Based on our morphometric evaluations, a classification into three different histological subgroups: granulocytic, megakaryocytic, and myelofibrotic was carried out. This simplified staging system was correlated with corresponding sets of hematological data. Sequential biopsies in 173 patients with monotherapy by IFN, hydroxyurea (HU), or busulfan (BU) revealed a fibrogenic effect of IFN in contrast to a fiber-reducing property of HU. The dynamics of myelofibrosis and changes of major cell lineages during treatment were readily demonstrable by calculating corresponding indices. These included the ratios between quantitative differences of corresponding variables at repeated examinations and time. Thus, in patients with complete hematological remission following IFN administration, regeneration of erythropoiesis was found to be accompanied by an increase in the total number of CD68(+) macrophages, including activated subpopulations. Histological subgroups showed a transition from a (nonfibrotic) granulocytic and megakaryocyte pattern to the myelofibrotic subtype in about 40% of patients. This change was opposed to a numerical reduction in the myelofibrotic subtype which occurred in 17 patients (36%), but predominantly in those under HU therapy. In conclusion, the striking heterogeneity of bone marrow features in CML warrants a careful morphological evaluation of trephine biopsies and appropriate means of processing to achieve relevant correlations with clinical data and, thus, allows a more elaborate insight into the dynamics of the disease process.