The role of PET/CT in evaluation of bone marrow involvement in lymphoma patients at the initial staging

Abstract

Objective: Bone marrow (BM) involvement is one of the most

important prognostic factors in lymphoma patients. Therefore,

it is important to determine the presence of BM involvement in

lymphoma patients at the time of diagnosis. Bone marrow biopsy

(BMB) is still accepted as the gold standard for evaluating the

marrow but it is painful and invasive. In this retrospective study,

we aimed to evaluate the role of positron emission tomography

combined with computed tomography (PET/CT) in evaluating the

BM involvement in lymphoma patients at the initial staging.

Patients and Methods: The patients who were evaluated

by PET/CT and bone marrow biopsy at time of diagnosis were

enrolled in the study.

Results: The overall sensitivity of PET/CT in demonstrating

BM involvement was 65.8%, and the specificity was 89.4%. In

the subgroup analysis of 176 Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) patients,

the sensitivity and specificity of the PET/CT were 81% and

84% respectively. Negative predictive value was 98%. In 201

diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients, the sensitivity

and specificity of the test were 91.3% and 94.3%, respectively.

Negative predictive value was 98.8%.

Conclusion: PET/CT is an accurate and complementary

modality with high specificity and sensitivity in detecting BM

infiltration in HL and DLBCL patients.

Keywords

• PET/CT,Lymphoma,Bone marrow infiltration

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