Bone marrow necrosis (BMN) is mostly diagnosed at postmortem examinati
on. It has been observed in association with acute leukemia and other
malignant diseases. We report here BMN in two patients with acute myel
oid leukemia (AML) and one with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in wh
om the diagnosis was made while alive. Two patients died because of in
tracraneal bleeding. One with AML(M5) developed BMN one week after he
was treated with a second course of chemotherapy: he had a complete re
covery and remains in remission almost five years after the diagnosis.
We conclude that antemortem diagnosis of BMN is technically difficult
, but as it is not always associated to a fatal prognosis, an early di
agnosis and vigorous supportive therapy should be attempted.