Bone Marrow Features and Clinical Findings in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia - A Comparative, Multicenter, Immunohistological and Morphometric Study on 614 Patients

A multicenter, immunohistochemical and morphometric study was performed on diagnostic pretreatment bone marrow biopsies in 614 adult patients with Ph chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) to compare histological features with clinical findings. For identification of mega-karyopoiesis we used the monoclonal antibody CD61 and additionally the PAS reaction to determine the subfraction of atypical micromegakaryocytes and precursors. Labelling of erythroid precursors was carried out by a monoclonal antibody directed against glycophorin C. In order to selectively stain macrophages and their activated subset we applied CD68 and the GSA-I lectin. Density of argyrophilic fibers (reticulin plus collagen) was measured following Gomori's silver impregnation method. In accordance with laboratory data morphological variables revealed a comparable amount of congruence in the various groups of CML patients derived from different sources. In about 26% of patients early (reticulin) to advanced (collagen) fibrosis was detectable. ...