title: Erythrophagocytosis by dysplastic neutrophils in chronic myelomonocytic leukemia and subsequent transformation to acute myeloid leukemia.
abstract: Erythrophagocytosis by neutrophils is a rare phenomenon in myeloid malignancies, and its clinicopathologic significance is not fully understood. We report a unique case of erythrophagocytosis by dysplastic neutrophils in chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) and subsequent transformation to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Review of multiple marrow samples, both pretreatment and post-treatment, demonstrated a correlation between percentage of dysplastic neutrophils and degree of erythrophagocytosis. Erythrophagocytosis was observed only in dysplastic forms of neutrophils. Post-transplant marrows with engraftment of donor cells showed no neutrophilic dysplasia or erythrophagocytosis. Possible mechanisms of neutrophilic erythrophagocytosis in myeloid malignancies are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Hematology Laboratory, Department of Laboratory Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California 94143-0100, USA.
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Etzell
authors.forename: Chuanyi M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: L Walden
authors.initials: LW
authors.lastname: Browne
authors.forename: Endi
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000473:pathology; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000473:pathology*; D004900:Erythroblasts / Q000473:pathology; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007951:Leukemia, Myeloid / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology*; D015477:Leukemia, Myelomonocytic, Chronic / Q000097:blood / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000473:pathology*; D010587:Phagocytosis