Introduction:

Infiltration of the central nervous system by malignant cells constitutes a serious complication of some hematological malignancies, mainly acute leukemias and aggressive lymphomas.

Objective:

To summarize the scientific basis and clinical significance of cerebrospinal fluid study methods for the diagnosis and follow-up of neuromeningeal infiltration in patients with hematologic malignancies.

Methods:

Information was searched during April 2021 in PubMed, ScienceDirect and SciELO databases. Publications were selected based on their typology, timeliness, scope, and study limitations.

Conclusions:

The cytomorphological study of cerebrospinal fluid is considered the standard method for the diagnosis and follow-up of neuromeningeal infiltration. Flow cytometry is more sensitive for the detection of occult infiltration than conventional cytology, but there are still reservations about its clinical significance. The sensitivity of other molecular studies such as the use of PCR and biomarker detection is also investigated.

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