Biopsy, including liver biopsy, is an important procedure in order to evaluate the prognosis and the therapeutic effects on the disease. This is the clinical study using liver biopsy in patients with hematological neoplastic diseases who developed either hepatomegaly or hepatic dysfunction and/or both. Percutaneous liver biopsy was performed on 21 HB-antigen negative patients (12 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, 2 Hodgkin's diseases, 3 acute leukemias, 2 chronic lymphocytic leukemias, 1 malignant reticulosis, and 1 mycotic fungoides).
Results obtained were as follows.
1) Of the 6 cases of malignant lymphomas only with hepatomegaly; 5 had normal liver and 1 lymphoma cell infiltration.
2) Of the 8 cases of malignant lymphomas both with hepatomegaly and liver function abnormalities; 4 chronic persistent hepatitis, 1 fatty liver, 1 cirrhosis, 1 intrahepatic cholestasis of unknown etilogy and 1 normal liver.
3) Of the 3 cases during complete remission of acute leukemias; all had acute viral hepatitis.
It seems that primary liver diseases are more common than neoplastic infiltration in the liver in patients with hematological malignant diseases.
