Rarely metastatic cancer cells may circulate in the blood causing a picture that resembles acute leukemia.
This has been described in
(1) malignant melanoma
(2) breast carcinoma
(3) small cell undifferentiated (oat cell) carcinoma of the lung
(4) adenocarcinoma of the GI tract
(5) urothelial carcinoma
(6) rhabdomyosarcoma
A common feature is the absence of cell proteins that promote cellular adhesion such as E-cadherin.
Clinical features:
(1) large numbers of circulating tumor cells in the peripheral blood resembling a leukemia
(2) tumor cells extensively involving the bone marrow
Differential diagnosis:
(1) leukoerythroblastosis associated with metatatic carcinoma to the bone marrow
(2) occasional tumor cells in the peripheral blood identified by PCR
(3) acute leukemia secondary to chemoradiation
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Specialty: Hematology Oncology, Surgery, general
ICD-10: ,
