Bone marrow necrosis in children with malignant disease

Abstract

The authors reviewed the case records of 1419 children with acute leukemia and other types of malignant disease involving the bone marrow to define the clinical and laboratory features associated with marrow necrosis as well as the prognostic significance of this complication. Only seven patients were found to have this abnormality: four with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), one with relapsed ALL, and two with disseminated neuroblastoma. All patients presented with severe bone pain, bone tenderness, and fever. Levels of serum lactic dehydrogenase were uniformly increased, being especially high in patients with ALL. There was no evidence of severe infection or disseminated intravascular coagulation, complications that have been causally related to marrow necrosis. Four of the five children with ALL remain in complete remission for 10+ to 48+ months. Both patients with neuroblastoma are off therapy, in remission, for 9+ to 15+ months. In contrast to earlier reports, bone marrow necrosis does not appear to confer a poor prognosis in children with malignancy.