title: Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia terminating in acute myeloid leukemia.
abstract: Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia (WM) is a rare condition, accounting for approximately 2% of haematologic malignancies. The most common causes of death in these patients are progression of the malignant lymphoproliferative process, infection and cardiac failure. Acute leukemia is a rare event in the clinical course of WM. A number of case reports have documented the development of terminal acute leukemia in patients with WM following prolonged chemotherapy. We describe a case of an elderly man who was a diagnosed case of WM and treated with chlorambucil and cyclophosphamide. Four years later, he developed acute leukemia.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi.
authors.forename: Safoorah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Khalid
authors.forename: Salman Naseem
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Adil
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Khurshid
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002699:Chlorambucil / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003520:Cyclophosphamide / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D008258:Waldenstrom Macroglobulinemia / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*
chemical_list: D002699:Chlorambucil; D003520:Cyclophosphamide