value of MR imaging of the bone marrow in children with haematopoietic malignancies

ABSTRACT

Malignancies were examined by MRI to detect the bone marrow changes. They were 44 patients with acute leukaemia, 4 patients with chronic myelogenous leukaemia, 4 patients with Hodgkins lymphoma, 3 patients with non. Hodgkin s lymphomta and 2 patients with polycythaemia vera. MRI proved to be highly sensitive in detection of focal or dtffuse bone marrow changes in 52 patients [Sensitivity 100%] and to exclude any bone marrow affection in 5 patients [Specificity 100%]. In spite of its high sensitivity in detection of bone marrow pathology, MRI could not defive a certain disease. In all haematopoietic malignancies, MRI revealed focal or diffuse low signal intensity on T1 -weighted images and high signal intensity on T2-weighted images. MRI-guided bone marrow biopsy was performed in 26 patients. All were successful and augmented the MRI diagnosis of persistence or relapse of the disease [19 patients], bone marrow aplation with fat replacement [4 patients] and secondary post therapy myelofibrosis [3 patients]. MR1 was proved to be very valuable tool in follow up of patients and in detection of the therapy complications. Its use should restrict the need for bone marrow biopsy to one time at the initial diagnosis