Diagnosis of metastatic cancer from the iliac crest biopsy.

R. Burkhardt, B. Frisch, G. Kettner, Abteilung für Knochenmarksdiagnostik, Medizinische Klinik Innenstadt, Universität München, Ziemssenstrasse 1, D-8000 München 2 (FRG) Cohen et al. [1], state that ‘it is of no value to obtain a bone marrow biopsy for the detection of bone marrow metastases in asymptomatic cancer patients with negative skeletal radio-isotope scan and negative bone X-ray films’. This statement is based on their findings of positive iliac crest biopsies in 32 (16%) of 205 patients with solid tumours, all of whom had other indications of metastatic spread, i.e. 280 Correspondence