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Could Lower Bone Marrow Count Suggest Cancer?
My daughter had an MRI and ws told that her bone marrow count was lower than last year. She is scared as to what this could mean. She was instructed to have another blood test done tomorrow and to see an oncologist. Does this mean she has cancer? Anemia was ruled out last year when her counts were also low.
Fri, 14 Nov 2014
Thanks for your question on HCM.
Lower bone marfow count does not always suggest cancer. There are many causes for this. But the common ones are
1. Viral infection like dengue and chickengunya
2. Maleria fever.
3. Chronic bacterial infection like TB.
4. Fungal infection
5. Side effect of drugs etc.
So we need to rule out all of the above first.
Anything which causes bone marrow supression can cause low bone marrow count.
Most of the cancers have high count.
So better to consult haematologist for further investigations.
Lower bone marfow count does not always suggest cancer. There are many causes for this. But the common ones are
1. Viral infection like dengue and chickengunya
2. Maleria fever.
3. Chronic bacterial infection like TB.
4. Fungal infection
5. Side effect of drugs etc.
So we need to rule out all of the above first.
Anything which causes bone marrow supression can cause low bone marrow count.
Most of the cancers have high count.
So better to consult haematologist for further investigations.
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