Lymphoid malignancies: a previously unrecognized risk factor for bone loss

Leslie R. Laufman, MD,¹ C.H. Spiridonidis, MD,¹ Sanjay Yadav, MD,¹ Heather Meek,¹ Holly Laufman, BS,¹ and Douglas Reader, MD²

¹Hematology Oncology Consultants, Inc., Columbus, OH, and ²Riverside Methodist Hospital, Columbus, OH

Lymphoid malignancies can damage bone by invasion, marrow expansion, and humoral factors causing demineralization, but the frequency of these events is not well known. Fifty patients with lymphoid malignancies (particularly non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia) and a good performance status treated at a single hematology practice were queried about bone symptoms and risk factors for osteoporosis; nuclear bone scan, metastatic bone survey, CT scan of the pelvis, and bone mineral densitometry were performed. Imaging studies were generally unproductive, but bone mineral density was abnormal in 30 patients (60%), unrelated to diagnosis, disease duration, treatment, or previously described osteoporotic risk factors. Further studies are warranted.

Commun Oncol 2007;4:561–563 print e-mail full text 76 kb