THE PROGNOSTIC-SIGNIFICANCE OF BONE-MARROW METASTASES IN SMALL-CELL LUNG-CANCER PATIENTS

One-hundred forty-six SCLC patients were classified as localised (56) or extensive (90) using chest X-ray, bronchoscopy, brain CT, bone scin tigraphy, ultrasonography of the abdomen and bilateral bone marrow tre phine biopsy. Bone marrow metastases were found in 28 cases. Patients with bone marrow metastases had significantly shorter time to progress ion (median 20 weeks) and significantly shorter survival time (median 31 weeks) than other patients with extensive disease (medians 30 and 4 6 weeks). Patients with bone marrow involvement had significantly more often metastases in three or more organs than others with extensive d isease. The negative prognostic significance of bone marrow involvemen t was however independent of the negative prognostic significance of t he number of organs with metastases.