Evaluation of the bones and bone marrow in patients with metastatic carcinoma of the prostate: radiologic, cytologic and cytogenetic findings.

We assessed the presence of bone and bone marrow involvement in seven men with advanced carcinoma of the prostate. The routine methods of history-taking, skeletal radiography, and radionuclide bone scans were supplemented by bone marrow aspiration, bone marrow biopsy, and performance of cytogenetic studies upon the aspirated bone marrow, without culture in vitro. Only radiology, bone scan, and marrow biopsy possessed adequate sensitivity. Definite cytogenetic abnormalities (45, XO) were found in two patients but the chromosome studies did not increase the rate of detection of marrow involvement by tumor.