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. 1985 Nov;38(11):1218–1224. doi: 10.1136/jcp.38.11.1218

Aplastic anaemia and the hypocellular myelodysplastic syndrome: histomorphological, diagnostic, and prognostic features.

I Fohlmeister, R Fischer, B Mödder, M Rister, H E Schaefer
PMCID: PMC499416  PMID: 4066981

Abstract

In a retrospective study of 111 patients with aplastic anaemia iliac crest biopsies were evaluated for the presence of morphological features statistically related to the evolution of the disease. Prognostic variables for a transition to acute non-lymphatic leukaemia were: cellular atypias of the three haemopoietic lineages, as observed in the myelodysplastic syndrome, and especially "micromegakaryocytes"; high numbers or irregular distribution of megakaryocytes, or both; and (slight) marrow fibrosis. Clinical variables did not influence these prognostic correlations. Prognosis in relation to death from bone marrow failure without leukaemia might well have been influenced by a strong plasma cell reaction, but this correlation was weakened by clinical factors. On the basis of this study aplastic anaemia can thus be subdivided morphologically into two disease entities--namely, hypocellular myelodysplastic syndrome with a 23-82% risk of acute non-lymphatic leukaemia developing within three years, depending on how many variables associated with acute non-lymphatic leukaemia are present, and non-dysplastic myelohypoplasia.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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