Spontaneous tumor lysis syndrome in acute myeloid leukemia: two cases and a review of the literature

Spontaneous tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) is a constellation of electrolyte abnormalities and acute renal failure, which occurs in the setting of rapid cell turnover prior to the administration of cytotoxic chemotherapy. While spontaneous TLS is well described in patients with Burkitt's lymphoma, it is thought to occur less commonly in other hematologic malignancies. We present two cases of spontaneous TLS in patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) followed by a review of the literature in this field.