Leucemia cutánea aleucémica: presentación de un caso

—The term aleukemic leukemia cutis describes the invasion of the skin by leukemic cells in the absence of peripheral blood and/or bone marrow involvement. Although the pathogenic mechanisms of this disease are still unknown, it is widely recognized its poor prognosis. Most of the reported patients completely developed the hematologic disease (the majority acute granulocytic or monocytic leukemias) in 10-14 months after diagnosis of aleukemic leukemia cutis, and they had a median survival of 22 months.We report on a case of a 77-year-old man with aleukemic leukemia cutis who presented with numerous erythematous to violaceous papulonodular lesions, mainly located on the trunk and head, lack of peripheal blood involvement and very early alterations in the bone marrow aspirate. Inmunohistochemical stains of skin and bone marrow biopsies revealed the infiltration of both tissues by blast cells of monocyte-histiocytic lineage. Our patient presented spontaneous resolution of skin lesions and his hematological disease showed no progression during 9 months after diagnosis, although he did not undergo any treatment.We emphasize the low incidence of association between myelodysplastic syndromes and aleukemic leukemia cutis as well as the surprising spontaneous remission of cutaneous lesions in our patient.     

Aleukemic leukemia cutis presenting as benign-appearing exanthema.

Aleukemic leukemia cutis is a rare condition characterized by the infiltration of the skin by leukemic cells before their appearance in the peripheral blood or bone marrow. We report here a 62-year-old seemingly healthy patient who presented with disseminated erythematous maculae. A skin biopsy showed leukemia cutis of monocytic type. No involvement of bone marrow or peripheral blood was found. The patient developed acute monocytic leukemia 7 months later. We present this case to illustrate how leukemia cutis can masquerade as a clinically benign-appearing cutaneous eruption without leukemic changes in blood or bone marrow. To confirm the diagnosis of aleukemic leukemia cutis, immunohistochemistry of the skin lesions as well as a complete staging procedure is necessary.     

Leukemia cutis. A histopathologic study of 42 cases

Biopsy specimens of skin from 42 patients with leukemia cutis were studied. Typing of leukemia was based on histopathologic and histochemical findings in peripheral blood and bone marrow. There were three patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia, 16 with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, 12 with acute granulocytic leukemia, three with chronic granulocytic leukemia, five with acute monocytic leukemia, and three with acute myelomonocytic leukemia. In general, leukemia cutis shows a diffuse infiltration of leukemic cells in the dermis and subcutaneous tissue, often infiltrating between collagen bundles. Extensive involvement and disruption of blood vessels and skin adnexa are characteristic findings in granulocytic, monocytic, and myelomonocytic leukemia cutis, but biopsy specimens of skin in patients with different types of leukemia show a wide range of histopathologic changes that are variable among the various types of leukemia and sometimes even among different patients with the same type of leukemia. A final typing of leukemia should not rely only on regular histopathologic findings of a skin biopsy, but should depend more on morphologic and histochemical studies of smears of peripheral blood or of bone marrow or both.     

The spectrum of cutaneous disease in leukemias

Cutaneous eruptions are frequent complications in the clinical course of patients with leukemia. Leukemia cutis is occasionally the cause of the eruption, but in many cases the lesions are non-leukemic. We have retrospectively selected all skin biopsies from patients with a computer-coded diagnosis of leukemia seen in the Stanford University Department of Pathology in the last 7 years, and separated these cases into the broad categories of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). We also analyzed separately those cases seen in patients treated with bone marrow transplantation from those treated with standard chemotherapy regimens. We found that leukemia cutis was seen frequently as the cause of lesions in patients with CML and CLL. In contrast, a wide variety of lesions were seen in patients with AML, including a greater number of infectious lesions, drug reactions, vasculitis, and lesions secondary to a hemorrhagic diathesis. In the bone marrow transplantation patients, graft vs host disease was usually the cause of skin lesions in those transplanted for CML and ALL, but again those patients with an underlying diagnosis of AML showed a wide variety of lesions including drug reactions, fungal infections and leukemia cutis. Finally, 6% of cases from patients with AML showed intraepidermal blistering disorders of various types, an association that has not been previously reported.     

Aleukemic monocytic leukemia cutis

Aleukemic leukemia cutis is a rare condition in which leukemic cells invade the skin before they appear in peripheral blood or bone marrow specimens. The condition frequently is misdiagnosed as atypical lymphoma. Generally, the diagnosis is made retrospectively, after the leukemic cells appear in peripheral blood or bone marrow samples. Immunohistochemical studies are the primary methods for diagnosis. Prognosis is usually poor. We describe the case of a 75-year-old woman with acute aleukemic monocytic leukemia cutis who developed systemic disease 1 1/2 years after skin involvement.     

Congenital Leukemia Cutis Preceding Monoblastic Leukemia by 3 Months

Abstract: We report an infant born with a cutaneous nodular eruption and neutropenia. Skin biopsy specimens revealed an immature dermal infiltrate suggestive of leukemia cutis, but repeated peripheral blood and bone marrow examinations failed to demonstrate malignant cells. The eruption resolved spontaneously. At the age of 3 months, a second occurrence of maculopapular skin lesions led to discovery of an acute monoblastic leukemia with (9;11)(p21–22;q23) translocation. Congenital acute leukemia is a rare disease associated with skin infiltration in 25% to 30% of patients. Usually the diagnosis is easily made by peripheral blood examination and/or bone marrow aspirate. However, skin involvement may precede acute leukemia by several weeks. Although very rare, this event must be kept in mind.     

Leucemia cutánea en un paciente con leucemia mieloide aguda M2

—The leukemia cutis is the cutaneous infiltration by leukemics cells. Patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) present specific cutaneous involvement in approximately 10% of the cases.We report the case of a leukemia cutis in a 73-year-old male with AML-M2. The patient presented with a one-week history of general malaise, asthenia, cough, dysnea and fever. Physical examination revealed and indurated red-brown plaque on his back of two moths duration, which was pruritic. Concomitance blood and bone marrow findings were diagnostic of AML-M2. A cutaneous biopsy was consistent with leukemia cutis. A CT and a bronchial biopsy showed pulmonary involvement. Since starting chemotherapy the patient had complete remission and the cutaneous lesion cleared, but 15 days later the skin lesion reappeared. A new bone marrow examination revealed recurrent leukemia. He died one month later.     

Acute myelomonocytic leukemia presenting as a benign-appearing cutaneous eruption

Aleukemic leukemia cutis is a rare condition in which patients have skin lesions containing leukemic cells before evidence of leukemia can be detected in the peripheral blood. There are only 23 cases of this phenomenon documented in the English literature. We describe a 62-year-old woman who developed a diffuse, clinically benign-appearing cutaneous eruption, which histologically showed an atypical infiltrate of cells, 4 months before leukemic cells were found in her peripheral blood and the diagnosis of acute myelomonocytic leukemia was made by bone marrow aspiration. This case illustrates the difficulty in diagnosing leukemia cutis from examination of routine histologic sections and the importance of specialized marker studies in determining the cause of an atypical cellular infiltrate of the skin. It also illustrates how leukemia cutis can masquerade as a clinically benign-appearing cutaneous eruption in a seemingly healthy patient with normal blood parameters.     

Value of immunohistochemistry in the diagnosis of leukemia cutis: study of 54 cases using paraffin-section markers

A grave prognosis is usually associated with leukemic skin infiltrates (leukemia cutis). However, some leukemic skin infiltrates are clinically similar to reactive non-leukemic infiltrates in patients with leukemia; thus it is of great importance to distinguish them. Fifty-four cases which were thought clinically to be leukemia cutis underwent immunophenotyping with a panel of nine T, B, monocytic, and macrophage markers using paraffin sections. Immunohistochemistry helped identify 44 cases with leukemia cutis and 10 with reactive infiltrates. In all cases of leukemia cutis, the staining patterns of skin infiltrates were concordant with cell type in the bone marrow. Furthermore, the panel of markers was usually helpful in distinguishing reactive from leukemia infiltrates, especially in cases with chronic lymphatic leukemia. Immunohistochemistry is a valuable adjunct in histopathologic differentiation of skin infiltrates in most cases of leukemia. With formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded biopsies, we recommend that CD45 (LCA), CD45RO (UCHL-1), CD3, CD20 (L-26), CD43 (Leu-22), CD68 (KP-1), lysozyme, and chloroacetate esterase be considered in cases of systemic leukemia with cutaneous papules and nodules that prove difficult to interpret with routine section.     

Differentiation syndrome during ivosidenib treatment with immunohistochemistry showing isocitrate dehydrogenase R132H mutation

We report a case of differentiation syndrome in a patient receiving the IDH1 inhibitor ivosidenib, with skin biopsy showing isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) R132H-mutated leukemia cutis. A 72-year-old man with IDH1-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML), status-post allogeneic cell transplantation, on ivosidenib for 6 months, was admitted for culture-negative neutropenic fever, pink and purpuric plaques and patches on the legs, abdomen and back, edema, hypotension, and shortness of breath. Skin biopsy revealed an infiltrate of atypical, immature, myeloperoxidase-positive mononuclear cells compatible with leukemia cutis or Sweet syndrome. Although dermal edema and interstitial neutrophilic infiltrate with karyorrhexis characteristic of Sweet syndrome were not seen, the atypical cells lacked expression of CD117 and CD34, which were expressed in the original leukemia. Additional immunohistochemical staining of suspected blasts was strongly positive for IDH1 R132H, suggesting a diagnosis of leukemia cutis. As the immunophenotype of blasts in skin infiltrates can significantly differ from the immunophenotype seen in blood and bone marrow, this case shows that mutation-specific antibodies such as anti-IDH1 R132H may be useful to help distinguish malignant from non-malignant infiltrates in the skin. Furthermore, differentiation syndrome may show histopathologic features of leukemia cutis on skin biopsy.     

以皮疹为首发症状的皮肤白血病一例

报道1例以皮疹为首发症状的急性淋巴细胞白血病.患者女,31岁,胸、腹部红斑伴轻度疼痛3个月就诊.初诊时血常规正常,皮疹活检提示皮肤白血病.1个月后原有红斑上出现瘀点,外周血及骨髓细胞学检查确诊为急性淋巴细胞白血病,腹部皮损免疫组化标记与外周血流式细胞仪分析,证实瘤细胞来源于前驱B淋巴细胞.脑脊液检查示中枢神经系统受累.化疗两次后缓解,1个月后复发,并死于呼吸循环衰竭.     

Aleukemic congenital leukemia cutis

A newborn girl had typical "blueberry muffin" skin lesions, which showed histopathologic features of myelomonocytic leukemia cutis. We could not demonstrate leukemic infiltration of bone marrow in four aspirates. Her course was complicated with primary pulmonary hypertension, which led to death at 7 months of age. We emphasize the persistence of skin lesions in the absence of bone marrow infiltration by leukemia throughout the course of the disease.     

Diffuse calcinosis cutis in a patient with congenital leukemia and leukemia cutis

We report an unusual case of congenital leukemia with leukemia cutis (LC) and diffuse calcinosis cutis. A newborn girl presented with widespread dusky red and yellowish cutaneous nodules and papules. Bone marrow morphology was consistent with the diagnosis of acute monocytic leukemia of the FAB M5 type. Skin biopsy specimens confirmed the presence of a leukemic infiltrate and revealed calcium salt deposition in the papillary and reticular dermis. Calcinosis was diffuse in the whole skin but spared other organs. Vascular calcification was not present. Serum calcium levels oscillated between 2.5 and 2.86 mmol/l, and phosphorus, parathyroid hormone and 25-hydroxyvitamin D(3) levels were normal. There were diffuse osteoporosis and spontaneous fractures of small tubular bones. The patient responded to chemotherapy but, following consolidation treatment, developed sepsis and died at 120 days of age. Congenital leukemia is rare and LC is uncommon. Hypercalcemia may be a complication of leukemia, which leads to multiorgan metastatic calcification. Despite the absence of frank hypercalcemia, the presence of bone lesions suggests that the patient's calcinosis cutis was of the metastatic type. However, the cutaneous leukemic infiltrate may also represent a triggering factor for calcium deposition in the skin.     

Cutaneous presentation of aleukemic monoblastic leukemia cutis - a case report and review of literature with focus on immunohistochemistry

Aleukemic monoblastic leukemia cutis is a rare cutaneous manifestation of a systemic hematological disorder associated with dermal infiltration of monoblasts preceding bone marrow or peripheral blood involvement. We report a case of a 75-year-old woman who presented with an erythematous maculopapular rash, which was clinically diagnosed as viral exanthema. Microscopy of the skin biopsy showed features of monoblastic leukemia. Her general physical condition rapidly deteriorated and she died 4 weeks later. We present this case to alert dermatologists of innocuous erythematous skin lesions clinically resembling a viral exanthema, which, in rare instances, may be a presenting feature of an aleukemic monoblastic leukemia cutis. This entity poses problems for dermatopathologists even on immunohistochemistry as monoblasts are negative for hemopoietic precursor cell antigens like CD34, Terminal deoxynncleotidy1 transferase (TdT) and CD117.     

皮肤白血病1例

患者，男性，22岁。1999年5月出现发热，经血液和骨髓穿刺证实为急性骨髓性白血病M5型（急性单核细胞性白血病）。2000年2月行自身外周血干细胞移植并顺利植活。移植后4个月患者发现前胸部出现紫红色结节、斑块，组织病理为“继发皮肤白血病”，骨髓穿刺和皮损免疫组化诊断为“急性骨髓白血病M5型复发”。经10天化疗，患者皮损减轻。     

Aleukemic leukemia cutis. An unusual presentation of acute myelomonocytic leukemia

A patient with acute myelomonocytic leukemia is reported. He had presented erythroderma and atypical cellular infiltration of the skin 4 months prior to the detection of leukemia in the peripheral blood and bone marrow. Aleukemic leukemia cutis is a rare condition which is characterized by leukemic cells invading the skin prior to the observation of leukemic cells in the peripheral blood. The cases of aleukemic leukemia cutis reported in the literature show little or no conformity in their clinical appearance. Enzyme cytochemistry, immunocytological and electron-microscopic studies are of considerable help in differentiating the cutaneous infiltrates and in establishing early diagnosis. We report herein a patient with erythroderma which regressed spontaneously, whereas microscopic examination of a cutaneous biopsy showed atypical cells infiltrating the dermis. After a period of 3 months, during which the patient remained free of lesions, he showed recurrence of the erythroderma while developing acute myelomonocytic leukemia. We feel this unusual presentation of aleukemic leukemia cutis should be added to the evergrowing list of cutaneous manifestations of leukemia.     

皮肤白血病1例

患者男性，５７岁，病期１个月，患者先出现乏力、发热、面色苍白，半月后于颈部、双上肢发现皮疹，无自觉症状。右前臂结节组织病理报告为皮肤白血病，经骨髓检查及免疫单抗检测确诊为急性粒细胞性白血病Ｍ２型。化疗后１７天，皮疹完全消退。１个月后，皮疹又再次出现。     

急性髓细胞性白血病(M4型)

报告1例急性髓细胞性皮肤白血病(M4型).患者女,48岁.全身出现丘疹、红色结节14d,伴剧烈瘙痒.体格检查:全身泛发大小不等的红色丘疹、结节,质韧,无压痛.皮损组织病理检查:真皮内弥漫淋巴样细胞浸润,有明显异形及较多核分裂象.免疫组化组织病理检查:CD68阳性(灶性),MPO阳性(少量).骨髓穿刺:白血病细胞大量增生,免疫标记:CD68、CD11b、MPO及HLA-DR均阳性.诊断:急性髓细胞性白血病(M4型).患者经过2次DA(伊达比星、阿糖胞苷)方案化疗后,再次行骨髓穿刺示缓解,但皮损仍有复发.     

Aleukemia cutis: Clinicopathological and molecular investigation of two cases

We describe two cases of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who presented with cutaneous manifestations. Leukemia cutis (LC) is the cutaneous presentation of any type of leukemia and occurs in 10% to 15% of patients with AML, but cutaneous infiltration of AML rarely precedes the involvement of the bone marrow or peripheral blood and is called “aleukemia cutis.” Our first case presented with facial skin thickening, a manifestation which is known as lionization and his initial clinical diagnosis was nonspecific allergic reaction. Our second case presented with urticaria-like lesions with the initial clinical and histomorphologic diagnoses of leukocytoclastic vasculitis. Histopathologic examination of skin biopsy specimens in both patients showed diffuse infiltration of the dermis with a monotonous population of intermediate-sized mononuclear cells by open chromatin and promonocytic features. Bone marrow aspiration leukocyte karyotyping showed normal cytogenetics, and molecular investigation revealed mutations of NPM1 and FLT3 genes. Somatic CEBPA gene mutation was negative in both patients. LC as the first manifestation of leukemia is very rare and could result in delayed diagnosis and affect patient prognosis.     

A Case of Congenital Leukemia Cutis

Congenital leukemia is a rare disease that develops from birth to 6 weeks of life. Leukemia cutis involves cutaneous infiltration by leukemic cells and is an unusual manifestation of leukemia, and has been documented in 25~30% of patients with congenital leukemia. The authors report a case of congenital leukemia cutis. A newborn male presented with widespread firm dusky red papules and nodules on almost his entire body surface. Skin biopsy specimens confirmed the presence of leukemic infiltrations, and bone marrow cytology was consistent with acute myeloid leukemia of the FAB M5 type.