title: A 61-year-old woman with adult T-cell leukemia÷lymphoma.
abstract: Adult T-cell leukemia÷lymphoma (ATL) is caused by human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) infection. Classification of ATL includes acute, chronic, lymphomatous and smoldering, and main features are hypercalcemia, organomegaly, bone, brain, lung, and skin changes. Elevated mortality rates of ATL may be due to the advanced age at diagnosis, because this malignancy can evolve unsuspected for decades before the first clinical manifestations. Palliative therapy, chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation are often utilized, but response to treatment is poor. The patient herein reported presented diffuse abdominal pain with duration of eight months in addition to ascites. The diagnosis of the acute leukemia type of ATL was done with base on clinical, laboratory and imaging findings. Gastrointestinal symptoms and ascites are uncommon first manifestations of ATL, and pose challenging diagnosis.
authors: Department of Internal Medicine, Armed Forces Hospital, Brasilia, Distrito Federal, Brazil; vitorinomodesto@gmail.com.
authors: Vitorino Modesto
authors: VM
authors: Dos Santos
authors: Eduardo Flávio Oliveira
authors: EF
authors: Ribeiro
authors: Priscilla Souza
authors: PS
authors: de Faria
authors: Isabella Augusta
authors: IA
authors: Barros
authors: Marcelo Martins
authors: MM
authors: Oliveira
mesh_terms: D003113:Colonoscopy; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015459:Leukemia-Lymphoma, Adult T-Cell / Q000473:pathology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000473:pathology; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed