Bone Marrow Diseases

On this page

Basics

• Summary
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Living With
• Specifics
• Genetics

See, Play and Learn

• No links available

Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Reference Desk
• Find an Expert

For You

• Patient Handouts

Summary

Bone marrow is the spongy tissue inside some of your bones, such as your hip and thigh bones. It contains stem cells. The stem cells can develop into the red blood cells that carry oxygen through your body, the white blood cells that fight infections, and the platelets that help with blood clotting.

With bone marrow disease, there are problems with the stem cells or how they develop:

• In leukemia, a cancer of the blood, the bone marrow makes abnormal white blood cells
• In aplastic anemia, the bone marrow doesn't make red blood cells
• In myeloproliferative disorders, the bone marrow makes too many white blood cells
• Other diseases, such as lymphoma, can spread into the bone marrow and affect the production of blood cells

Causes of bone marrow diseases include genetics and environmental factors. Tests for bone marrow diseases include blood and bone marrow tests. Treatments depend on the disorder and how severe it is. They might involve medicines, blood transfusions or a bone marrow transplant.

Symptoms

• What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Fanconi Anemia? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Polycythemia Vera? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Thrombocythemia and Thrombocytosis? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Blood Count Tests: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Bone Marrow Aspiration and Biopsy (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• How Are Thrombocythemia and Thrombocytosis Diagnosed? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• How Is Fanconi Anemia Diagnosed? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• How Is Polycythemia Vera Diagnosed? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• Reticulocyte Count Test (American Association for Clinical Chemistry)
• What Are Bone Marrow Tests? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Treatments and Therapies

• Bone Marrow Transplantation: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Drugs Approved for Myeloproliferative Disorders (National Cancer Institute)
• How Are Thrombocythemia and Thrombocytosis Treated? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• How Is Fanconi Anemia Treated? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• How Is Polycythemia Vera Treated? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• Myelodysplastic/ Myeloproliferative Neoplasms Treatment (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Treatment Option Overview (Chronic Myeloproliferative Neoplasms) (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Treatment Option Overview (Myelodysplastic/Myeloproliferative Neoplasms) (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Treatment Options for Chronic Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Treatment Options for Myelodysplastic/Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish

Living With

• Living with Fanconi Anemia (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• Living with Polycythemia Vera (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• Living With Thrombocythemia or Thrombocytosis (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Specifics

• Atypical Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Essential Thrombocythemia (National Cancer Institute)
• General Information about Chronic Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• General Information about Myelodysplastic/Myeloproliferative Neoplasms (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Juvenile Myelomonocytic Leukemia (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Myelodysplastic/Myeloproliferative Neoplasm, Unclassifiable (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Myelofibrosis (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Polycythemia Vera (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• Primary Myelofibrosis (National Cancer Institute) Also in Spanish
• Thrombocythemia and Thrombocytosis (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)
• What Is Fanconi Anemia? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Genetics

• Genetics Home Reference: 8p11 myeloproliferative syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: Diamond-Blackfan anemia (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: dyskeratosis congenita (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: essential thrombocythemia (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: Fanconi anemia (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: Pearson marrow-pancreas syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: polycythemia vera (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: primary myelofibrosis (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: Shwachman-Diamond syndrome (National Library of Medicine)
• Genetics Home Reference: thiopurine S-methyltransferase deficiency (National Library of Medicine)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Bone Marrow Diseases (National Institutes of Health)
• ClinicalTrials.gov: Myeloproliferative Disorders (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Eltrombopag Added to Standard Immunosuppression for Aplastic Anemia.
• Article: A phase 2 study of simtuzumab in patients with primary,...
• Article: De-escalation empirical antibiotic therapy improved survival for patients with severe...
• Bone Marrow Diseases -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Inherited Bone Marrow Failure Syndromes Glossary of Terms (National Cancer Institute)

Find an Expert

• American Cancer Society
• Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
• National Cancer Institute Also in Spanish
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Patient Handouts

• Bone marrow aspiration (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Bone marrow culture (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Bone marrow transplant (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Bone marrow transplant - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Myelofibrosis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Polycythemia vera (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish