SCLC and Bone marrow involvement

[Guest sigmak]

Hello everyone,

My 70 year old mother was diagnosed with sclc on 5/22/07. After all tests were done, dr's told us it was only in left lung and pulm. lymph nodes, all else clear. Then they did a bone marrow biopsy...and bam! it is there. Her oncologist said he will treat it the same way, but with 6 rounds of chemo instead of 4 and possible preventative radiation to brain. I have searched for others with bone marrow involvement, but haven't been successful. Are there any out there and what has been your experience? Is there hope?

Thanks...

[blueeye]

Is this the same as mets to the bones? Lots of folks on this board with that.

[Guest sigmak]

I don't think it is the same. Her bone scans all came back clear.

[DrWest]

Bone marrow involvement isn't the same thing as visible bone mets on scans. Because SCLC has such a tendency to spread, one inconsistently done test is a bone marrow biopsy, on one or both sides of the pelvis, looking for cancer cells in a microscopic view of the marrow. Bone mets are visible with the eye just looking at a CT or PET or bone scan, so much, much larger.

I think oncologists have been moving away from doing bone marrow tests for routine staging, but it's an appropriate thing to do, just "old school". The importance of it is that it basically shows that the cancer has spread outside of just the chest, although the prognosis may be more favorable with just microscopic spread than extensive disease seen clearly in the liver, bone, brain, etc.

-Dr. West