Refractory anaemia with hypereosinophilia and clonal abnormal metaphases detected only in the neutrophilic granulopoietic series

We report a case with refractory anaemia terminating in an acute leukaemia, which showed from the very beginning an intense eosinophilia that lasted for the whole disease, and in which the eosinophilic metaphases, as documented by the 'Morphology, Antibody, Chromosome' technique, were normal. An unusual karyotypic anomaly in the setting of a myelodysplastic syndrome could only be detected in the neutrophilic series. A general approach to detect structural aberrations of specific human chromosomes in metaphase cells by chromosomal in situ suppression hybridization of DNA libraries from sorted human chromosomes has been applied for chromosomes 11, 3 and 2, in order to identify an extra copy of chromosome 2.

Extramedullary hematopoietic tumors of the posterior mediastinum related to asymptomatic refractory anemia

Two asymptomatic paravertebral thoracic masses occurred in a 65-year-old patient with isolated macrocytosis. The largest one measured 8 cm and was surgically resected with a presumptive diagnosis of schwannoma. This thoracic mass was hemorrhagic, encapsulated, and composed of fat and hematopoietic tissue. While extramedullary hematopoietic tumors usually occur in patients with severe chronic hemolytic anemia, our report suggests that such lesions must be considered in the differential diagnosis of posterior mediastinal mass in patients without clinical evident anemia.

Inflammatory bowel disease and refractory anaemia (myelodysplasia)

Two patients with colitis and refractory anaemia requiring multiple transfusions are described. In one the anaemia was detected at the onset of colitis before drug treatment; in the other it started after 21 years of treatment with sulphasalazine and during an exacerbation of colitis with perianal abscess for which he had just been started receiving prednisolone, cofluampicil and metronidazole. Glomerulonephritis developed two weeks after the onset of anaemia. These findings together with a recent report of four patients with Crohn's disease and refractory anaemia suggests that the association may be more than coincidental and may be immune mediated.

Trisomy 13 in a patient with leukemic progression of myelodysplasia

Four months after the diagnosis of refractory anemia, a 60-year-old patient developed acute leukemia with blast cells that were poorly differentiated by morphology and clearly myeloid by immunophenotyping. Cytogenetic analysis performed at leukemization showed trisomy 13. An extra copy of chromosome 13 has already been reported in a few cases of acute leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome.

Myelodysplastic syndrome associated with relapsing polychondritis: unusual transformation from refractory anemia to chronic myelomonocytic leukemia

The authors report an unusual case of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) associated with relapsing polychondritis (RP), which developed at almost the same time as MDS. The initial diagnosis was MDS, refractory anemia (RA) subtype, according to the FAB classification. Symptoms of RP were apparently controlled by oral administration of prednisolone (PSL), although MDS was not. Within 1 month after the diagnosis, monocytosis and thrombocytopenia without excess of blasts became prominent and transformation from RA to chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) was recognized. Combination chemotherapy including daunorubicin (DNR) and cytosine arabinoside (ara-c) did not subdue the progressive monocytosis and thrombocytopenia. Finally, the patient died of pulmonary hemorrhage 3 months after the onset of the disease. The prognosis of MDS may be poorly influenced by association with RP.

Acute leukemia with t(1;3)(p36;q21), evolution to t(1;3)(p36;q21), t(14;17)(q32;q21), and loss of red cell A and Le(b) antigens

At transformation of refractory anemia with ring sideroblasts to acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL) the bone marrow cells of a 75-year-old woman showed three different karyotypes, i.e., 46,XX,46,XX,t(1;3)(p36;q21) and 46,XX,t(1;3)(p36;q21),t(14;17)(q32;q21). She received no antileukemic therapy, and 1 year later, all her bone marrow cells were t(1;3)(p36;q21),t(14;17)(q32;q21). In association with the onset and first 11 months of ANLL, the platelet count increased 10-fold to a peak of 750 x 10(9)/L, providing further evidence that the t(1;3)(p36;q21) translocation causes stimulation of thrombopoiesis. Six months after transformation, her red cells showed reduced expression of A and Leb antigens. Serum alpha-n-3-acetylgalactosaminyl transferase (blood group A transferase) and red cell adenylate kinase were both reduced. The genes for both these substances are at 9q34, which suggests an abnormality here, although cytogenetically chromosome 9 appeared normal. This is the first case with t(1;3)(p36;q21) to show concurrent loss of red cell antigens and the first report detailing the course of untreated ANLL with t(1;3)(p36;q21).

[Acute lymphoblastic leukemia in refractory anemia with "ringed" sideroblasts]

The paper deals with the progression of idiopathic refractory sideroblastic anaemia (IRSA) and its transformation to acute B lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). Attention is paid to haematological changes prior to leukaemia development. Acute leukaemia was best expressed in this patient by severe deterioration of dyserythropoiesis, leukopenia, and by an increase of blasts in the bone marrow over 5%. Our patient is an additional evidence to the hypothesis of the common lymphohematopoietic progenitor.

[Neutrophilic dermatosis in a patient with refractory anemia]

A 46-year-old man diagnosed as refractory anemia was hospitalized because of high fever and extensive erythema with ulceration in the femoral region. His peripheral blood examination showed marked leukocytosis (WBC 31,500/microliter:neutrophilic 90%) and anemia (Hb 8.6 g/dl. In spite of administration of antibiotics, the cutaneous ulcer rapidly extended to the right thigh and became necrotic. The bacterial culture of the cutaneous lesion showed no growth and a skin biopsy showed infiltration of neutrophils in the dermis. He became afebrile and his cutaneous lesion improved after administration of corticosteroid. When the dose of corticosteroid was decreased, cutaneous erythema and nodules appeared at other sites repeatedly, and disappeared after the dose of corticosteroid was increased. The cutaneous lesions had characteristics of both Sweet's syndrome and pyoderma gangrenosum. Moreover, the patient had immunological abnormalities and decreased neutrophilic functions (chemotaxis and O2- generation). Thus, it was suggested that the cutaneous lesions of this patient could be diagnosed as "neutrophilic dermatosis of MDS", and corticosteroid was recognized to be very effective in treating these skin lesions.

[Myelodysplastic syndrome with severe thrombocytopenia and economic aspects of therapy]

On the example of a 66-year-old man the authors describe the atypical course of myelodysplastic syndrome of the type of refractory anaemia with dominating thrombocytopenia, manifested by massive haemorrhage, mostly into the digestive tract. In view of the increasing number of patients with this diagnosis, the authors attempted to elaborate the approximate costs of treatment of the condition in a medical department.

Acquired haemoglobin H disease in a case of myelodysplastic syndrome

A case of acquired haemoglobin H (HbH) disease with underlying myelodysplastic syndrome in the form of acquired idiopathic sideroblastic anaemia is reported. Family studies and subsequent drop in HbH percentage strongly supported the acquired nature of the defect.

Development of 5q- myelodysplasia in a patient with sarcoidosis

Sarcoidosis has been observed in association with numerous blood dyscrasias including lymphoma, leukemia, and multiple myeloma. This report describes a patient with sarcoidosis and a refractory anemia whose bone marrow karyotype showed deletion of the long arm of chromosome 5, consistent with a myelodysplastic syndrome. Concurrent sarcoidosis and myelodysplasia may relate to the continued availability of cytokines as a consequence of repeated macrophage, T-cell, and B-cell interactions, with evolution to the 5q- abnormality. This association may merit specific attention in the future approach to the diagnostic evaluation in certain patients with sarcoidosis.

[Sweet's syndrome in patient with refractory anemia during recombinant human granulocyte colony stimulating factor therapy]

We present a patient with refractory anemia (RA) who developed Sweet's syndrome during the treatment of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF). A 30-year-old man was admitted to the hospital for evaluation of anemia. He was diagnosed as MDS (RA). As a phase II study in MDS, rhG-CSF therapy was begun. Fever associated with cutaneous lesion developed over the left shoulder. Antibiotics showed no effects. Skin biopsy revealed Sweet's syndrome. This skin lesion disappeared thoroughly with discontinuance of G-CSF and administration of prednisolone. To examine whether Sweet's syndrome was related to the G-CSF therapy, we analyzed the effect of G-CSF on the function of patient's neutrophils. However, the function of patient's neutrophils was not activated by G-CSF administration.

Congenital refractory anaemia with vacuolisation of bone marrow precursors, sideroblastosis and growth failure in a girl with normal endocrine pancreatic function

The case is described of an 8-years-old girl with consanguineous parents. She was apparently well, apart, from growth retardation, until 18 months of age when she developed severe normocytic hypochromic anaemia. Bone marrow examination revealed vacuolisation of the erythroid and myeloid precursor, and electron microscopic studies showed striking sideroblastosis with ringed arrangement of the iron granules. Porphyrin metabolism was apparently normal, whereas blood levels of iron and ferritin were high. A careful study of the exocrine pancreas showed completely normal function. Vitamin B6 administration was unsuccessful. The patient is transfusion-dependent, and iron chelation treatment has produced good results. The case could be a new entity or a variant of congenital sideroblastic anaemia, since it has some features in common with the syndrome described by Pearson et al.

[Autoimmune hemolytic anemia and myelodysplastic syndromes]

The association between autoimmune haemolytic anaemia (AHA) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) was found in seven out of 156 patients with SMD who received several transfusions as supportive therapy. Three patients were diagnosed of refractory anaemia (RA), three more of refractory anaemia with excess of blasts (RAEB) and one of refractory anaemia with ring sideroblasts (RARS). All patients showed a positive direct antiglobulin test (DAT) and the presence of anti-red blood cell IgG type antibodies, both in serum and eluate. Clinically, three patients showed signs of low grade haemolysis. It is suggested that in the reported patients, who seem to be immunologically predisposed, red blood cell transfusions could trigger the autoantibodies and the AHA development.