Cyto-morphological features of extramedullary acute megakaryoblastic leukemia on fine needle aspiration and cerebrospinal fluid cytology: A case report

Cytopathology of myeloid sarcoma: a study of 16 cases

INTRODUCTION

The diagnosis of myeloid sarcoma (MS) in cytology samples is challenging, especially when these tumors occur prior to a diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia. The aim of this study was to review our cytopathology service's experience with a series of MS cases.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Archival records were searched from which 16 cytology cases of MS were identified and reviewed. Clinical findings, cytomorphology, and ancillary studies were analyzed.

RESULTS

MS was secondary to acute myeloid leukemia in 14 cases, chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in blast crisis in 1 case, and myelodysplastic syndrome in another. Flow cytometry was supportive in 11 cases, immunostains were helpful when performed in 4 cases, and fluorescence in-situ hybridization in the CML case showed t(9;22). Cellularity was variable in all leukemia subtypes. Blasts had round or cleaved nuclei with indistinct nucleoli. Maturing granulocytes were present only in the patient with CML, or with peripheral blood contamination (4 cases). Other blood precursors were absent. Apoptosis and lymphoglandular bodies were present in almost one-half of the cases, which correlated with increased blasts. Mitoses were infrequent (6 cases) and necrosis was not seen.

CONCLUSIONS

The diagnosis of MS in cytology specimens can be made in cases with adequate cellularity and supportive ancillary studies in the correct clinical context. MS was harder to diagnose in cytology cases with low cellularity, blood contamination, and few blasts. Cytologic features that pose diagnostic pitfalls are lymphoglandular bodies suggestive of lymphoma and maturing or mixed granulocytes that mimic infection.

Authors attain comparable or slightly higher rates of citation publishing in an open access journal (CytoJournal) compared to traditional cytopathology journals - A five year (2007-2011) experience

BACKGROUND

The era of Open Access (OA) publication, a platform which serves to better disseminate scientific knowledge, is upon us, as more OA journals are in existence than ever before. The idea that peer-reviewed OA publication leads to higher rates of citation has been put forth and shown to be true in several publications. This is a significant benefit to authors and is in addition to another relatively less obvious but highly critical component of the OA charter, i.e. retention of the copyright by the authors in the public domain. In this study, we analyzed the citation rates of OA and traditional non-OA publications specifically for authors in the field of cytopathology.

DESIGN

We compared the citation patterns for authors who had published in both OA and traditional non-OA peer-reviewed, scientific, cytopathology journals. Citations in an OA publication (CytoJournal) were analyzed comparatively with traditional non-OA cytopathology journals (Acta Cytologica, Cancer Cytopathology, Cytopathology, and Diagnostic Cytopathology) using the data from web of science citation analysis site (based on which the impact factors (IF) are calculated). After comparing citations per publication, as well as a time adjusted citation quotient (which takes into account the time since publication), we also analyzed the statistics after excluding the data for meeting abstracts.

RESULTS

Total 28 authors published 314 publications as articles and meeting abstracts (25 authors after excluding the abstracts). The rate of citation and time adjusted citation quotient were higher for OA in the group where abstracts were included (P < 0.05 for both). The rates were also slightly higher for OA than non-OA when the meeting abstracts were excluded, but the difference was statistically insignificant (P = 0.57 and P = 0.45).

CONCLUSION

We observed that for the same author, the publications in the OA journal attained a higher rate of citation than the publications in the traditional non-OA journals in the field of cytopathology over a 5 year period (2007-2011). However, this increase was statistically insignificant if the meeting abstracts were excluded from the analysis. Overall, the rates of citation for OA and non-OA were slightly higher to comparable.

Is acute myeloid leukemia a liquid tumor?

Extramedullary manifestations of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) were described as early as the 19th century. However, the incidence, clinical significance and pathobiology of extramedullary AML remain ill defined. We reviewed case reports, retrospective case series, pilot studies and imaging studies of extramedullary leukemia (EML) to determine its frequency, characteristics, clinical presentation and significance. EML precedes or accompanies development of AML and occurs during or following treatment, even during remission. Although imaging studies are rarely conducted and the true incidence of EML has yet to be verified, authors have reported several estimates based on retrospective and autopsy studies. The incidence of EML in patients with AML of all ages is estimated to be about 9% and EML in children with AML was detected in 40% of patients at diagnosis. The combination of positron emission tomography and computed tomography were the most sensitive and reliable techniques of detecting and monitoring EML. Based on our literature review, the frequency of EML is likely underreported. The well-documented nature of EML in patients with AML suggests that AML can manifest as a solid tumor. The extent to which EML accompanies AML and whether EML is derived from bone marrow are unknown. Furthermore, questions remain regarding the role of the microenvironment, which may or may not facilitate the survival and proliferation of EML, and the implications of these interactions with regard to minimal residual disease, tumor cell quiescence and relapse. Therefore, prospective studies of detection and characterization of EML in patients with AML are warranted.

Thank you reviewers – CytoJournal 2011

CytoJournal, with its continued contribution of scientific cytopathology literature to the public domain under open access (OA) charter, thanks its dedicated peer reviewers for devoting significant efforts, time, and resources during 2011. The abstracts of poster-platform submissions to the 59^th Annual Scientific Meeting (November 2011) of the American Society of Cytopathology (ASC) in Baltimore, MD, USA, were peer reviewed by the ASC Scientific Program Committee.