Haematological malignancies in chronic hepatitis C patients referred for bone marrow biopsy

ABSTRACT

Chronic hepatitis C has a well documented association with hepatic and extra hepatic malignancies. To look into the spectrum of malignancies in chronic hepatitis C patients referred for bone marrow biopsy for having disturbances in haematological parameters. This descriptive crosssectional study was conducted at Department of Pathology, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences [P.I.M.S], Islamabad, from July 2009 to June 2011. A total of 90 diagnosed cases of chronic hepatitis C referred with various indications for bone marrow biopsy were included in the study. A detailed account of clinical history and physical examination was taken. All the patients were subjected to peripheral blood counts and bone marrow biopsy. Data were entered on the SPSS 14 and analyzed. Amongst a total of 90 patients, 14 [15.6%] were diagnosed to have various types of haematological malignancies. Among these seven cases were diagnosed as lympho-proliferative disorders, including 3 cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, 3 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and 1 case of Hodgkin's disease. Chronic myeloid leukemia was observed in 2 cases. Myelofibrosis and myelofibrosis with essential thrombocythemia and multiple myeloma were observed in 1 case each and metastatic lesion was observed in 2 cases