title: Granulocytic sarcoma preceding acute leukemia: a report of six cases.
abstract: An unusual case of granulocytic sarcoma presenting in a pericardial effusion following trauma and preceding acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) by 8 months is presented. Five additional cases of granulocytic sarcoma preceding leukemia collected by the author are also tabulated. Granulocytic sarcoma in a nonautopsy population of myelogenous leukemic patients was found to be 2.9%. When presenting in an extramedullary site, especially preceding peripheral blood and bone marrow manifestations of leukemia, a misdiagnosis of histiocytic lymphoma may result. In questionable cases, other techniques including the naphthol-ASD-chloroacetate stain, touch imprints, immunoperoxidase stain for lysozyme, and electron microscopy should be utilized. Although only a small series, the most recent cases have shown induction/remission and survival characteristics of AML patients without granulocytic sarcoma.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007951:Leukemia, Myeloid / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000175:diagnosis*; D016403:Lymphoma, Large B-Cell, Diffuse / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010490:Pericardial Effusion / Q000166:cytology; D011379:Prognosis; D013997:Time Factors