What condition might be diagnosed from a bone marrow biopsy that has increased granulocyte precursors?

A bone marrow biopsy revealing increased granulocyte precursors suggests hyperplasia of the myeloid lineage, which is commonly associated with leukemia. In this condition, there is an abnormal proliferation of white blood cells, including granulocytes, leading to an overproduction of granulocyte precursors.

Leukemia is characterized by the uncontrolled growth of immature or abnormal blood cells, which can disrupt normal blood cell development. The presence of increased granulocyte precursors specifically points to myeloid leukemia, such as chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) or acute myeloid leukemia (AML), where the bone marrow becomes filled with immature granulocytes.

In contrast, other conditions listed do not typically show this finding. Aplastic anemia would present with a reduction in all hematopoietic cell lines due to failure of the bone marrow, rather than an increase. Iron deficiency anemia generally leads to microcytic red blood cells and does not primarily influence granulocyte precursors. Megaloblastic anemia is characterized by deficient red blood cell production due to impaired DNA synthesis, often related to vitamin B12 or folate deficiency, and it does not correlate with an increase in granulocyte precursors.

Thus, the increase in granulocyte precursors in a bone marrow