Bone Marrow Aspiration and Biopsy

A bone marrow aspiration, biopsy, or both are done to:

• Look for the cause of problems with Reference red blood cells Opens New Window, Reference white blood cells Opens New Window, or Reference platelets Opens New Window in people who have conditions such as Reference thrombocytopenia Opens New Window, Reference anemia Opens New Window, or an abnormal white blood cell count.
• Find blood disorders, such as Reference leukemia Opens New Window, certain Reference anemias Opens New Window, or problems that affect the bone marrow, such as Reference multiple myeloma Opens New Window or Reference polycythemia vera Opens New Window.
• Check to see if a known cancer, such as Reference Hodgkin's lymphoma Opens New Window or Reference non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Opens New Window, has spread to the bone marrow. This is part of what is called Reference staging Opens New Window. It is done to find out if the cancer has spread and how much it has spread. This helps plan cancer treatment. Staging can be done for other cancers, such as Reference prostate Opens New Window, Reference breast Opens New Window, or Reference lung cancer Opens New Window that may have spread to the bone marrow.
• Find infections or tumors that may start in or spread to the bone marrow. If you have an infection, a Reference culture and sensitivity test Opens New Window of the bone marrow sample may be used to find out which Reference antibiotics Opens New Window will work best to treat the infection.
• Find the best treatment for a bone marrow problem. Once treatment has been started, a bone marrow aspiration and biopsy may be done to see if the leukemia cells are gone, which means the treatment is working.
• Collect a sample of bone marrow for medical procedures, such as stem cell transplantation or chromosomal analysis.

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