Initially considered to be of natural killer (NK)-cell origin, CD4+ CD56+ blastic tumors (BTs) of skin have recently been proposed to be of dendritic cell lineage. We have previously described BTs with transformation to myelomonocytic leukemia. Here we report expression of the lymphoid proto-oncogene TCL1 in 10 (83%) of 12 BTs and in lymph node plasmacytoid dendritic cells (DC2s). TCL1 was also...

Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a clonal hematopoietic stem cell disease characterized by cytopenia, dysplasia in one or more of the major myeloid cell lines, ineffective hematopoiesis, and increased risk of development of acute myeloid leukemia [1]. The majority of patients with MDS present with symptoms related to cytopenia [1]. However, cutaneous manifestations have also been reported in p...

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) has a typical progressive course with transition from a chronic phase to a terminal blast crisis phase. However, the mechanisms that lead to disease progression remain unclear. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) play important roles in maintaining the bone marrow microenvironment. In the present study, the biological characteristics of BMMSCs were det...

PURPOSE To report a case of iris abscess due to bacterial endocarditis. CASE REPORT A 46-year-old male under diagnosis of promielocitic leukemia and endocarditis presented with decreased vision in left eye (OS). Ophthalmic exploration revealed iris abscess and hypopyon with fibrinous exudate in iris of the left eye and tyndall +1 in right eye (OD). Blood culture and anterior chamber paracente...

Ultrastructural cytochemical changes occurring during the blast phase of chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML) are described. Normal developing promyelocytes contain myeloperoxidase (MPO) -positive rough endoplasmic reticulum, nuclear envelope, and Golgi apparatus. All secretory granules of normal promyelocytes are also MPO-positive. In this study we have found abnormal promyelocytes with MPO-posit...

A panel of lymphocyte surface markers was used to identify blast cells from 111 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Three groups of patients were found. 1) 14 patients with B derived ALL. Only three patients had a common ALL; in the other cases the blastic proliferation was featured by Burkitt's tumor cells or supervened in patients affected with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)...

Blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare hematologic malignancy with aggressive clinical course and poor prognosis. Diagnosis is based on detection of CD4+ CD56+, CD123high, TCL-1+, and blood dendritic cell antigen-2/CD303+ blasts, together with the absence of lineage specific antigens on tumour cells. In this report we present a case of BPDCN presenting with extramedullar...