Hemophagocytosis and acute monoblastic leukemia.
A 16-month-old girl presented with hepatosplenomegaly and pancytopenia. Bone marrow aspiration showed a florid increase in macrophages with marked hemophagocytosis. She subsequently improved spontaneously with no therapeutic intervention, but 2 months later presented with frank acute monoblastic leukemia. This case illustrates the difficulties in classifying malignancies of the monocyte-macrophage lineage and how hemophagocytosis can be the presenting feature of a range of diseases.
Russell
L
L
Department of Haematology, Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Shaw
N J
NJ
Eden
O B
OB
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007948:Leukemia, Monocytic, Acute / Q000276:immunology*; D008264:Macrophages / Q000276:immunology; D009000:Monocytes / Q000276:immunology; D010587:Phagocytosis / Q000276:immunology