Background: Lymphomas, including Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), are major hematologic malignancies. Bone marrow evaluation may provide important information for staging and disease assessment in selected patients. This study compared bone marrow involvement (BMi) and peripheral blood findings between pediatric and adult patients with HL and NHL and evaluated the factors associated with BMi.
Materials and Methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted on 125 patients with histologically confirmed HL or NHL who underwent bone marrow biopsy (BMB), bone marrow aspiration (BMA), and peripheral blood smear (PBS) examination at Shahid Sadoughi Hospital, Yazd, Iran, during the study period. The patients were categorized into pediatric (< 18 years) and adult (≥ 18 years), and the lymphoma diagnoses were classified according to the 2016 WHO classification. The factors associated with BMi were assessed using binary logistic regression.
Results: A total of 125 patients were included, with a male predominance. HL and NHL were diagnosed in 64 (51.2%) and 61 (48.8%) patients, respectively. BMi was observed in 23 patients and was more frequent in NHL than in HL (16/61 vs. 7/64, P = 0.001). Peripheral blood lymphocytosis was observed exclusively in the patients with NHL (P = 0.001). In univariate logistic regression, adult age (OR = 2.77, P = 0.040) and lymphoma type (OR = 0.34, P = 0.029) were associated with BMi. However, none of the examined variables remained independently associated with BMi after multivariable adjustments.
Conclusion: BMi was more frequent in NHL than in HL. Although adult age and lymphoma type were associated with BMi in the univariate analyses, neither remained independently associated with BMi after multivariable adjustments. These findings should be interpreted cautiously given the retrospective nature of the study, single-center design, small pediatric sample, and small number of BMi events.