title: Bone marrow mastocytosis associated with an undifferentiated extramedullary tumor of hemopoietic origin.
abstract: The case of a 62-year-old man who presented with acute abdominal pain and a widespread tumor involving the retroperitoneum is described. Three weeks after initial presentation, the patient died suddenly of acute cardiac failure with signs of arrhythmia. Autopsy revealed a disseminated tumor with infiltration of the retroperitoneal fat, as well as nodules in the left testis and the right atrium. The tumor cells were reactive for CD45, vimentin, and chloroacetate esterase, but were unreactive with a broad spectrum of antibodies against myelomonocytic and lymphocytic antigens and with antibodies against tryptase and c-kit (CD117), which are characteristic markers for mast cells. However, the bone marrow exhibited the typical picture of mastocytosis, with disseminated clusters of differentiated spindle-shaped cells that stained strongly for tryptase, c-kit, and chloroacetate esterase. No infiltrates of well-differentiated mastocytosis could be detected in any of the extramedullary tissues investigated. A diagnosis of bone marrow mastocytosis with an associated undifferentiated extramedullary tumor of hemopoietic origin was established. By definition, the extramedullary tumor could not be diagnosed as a granulocytic sarcoma or (differentiated) mastocytoma, but the possibility that a mast cell progenitor could be involved in the evolution of both tumors cannot be ruled out.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pathology, University of Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: H P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Horny
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kaiserling
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sillaber
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Walchshofer
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Valent
mesh_terms: D001855:Bone Marrow Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D006411:Hematopoiesis, Extramedullary; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008415:Mastocytosis / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged