Mast Cell Leukemia?—Malignant Mastocytosis with Leukemia-like Manifestations

Abstract

Abstract A case of probable leukemia in an adult female is described which is classified as tissue mast cell leukemia. Clinical course and autopsy findings are analyzed and a detailed morphologic description is given of the different stages of maturation of T.M.C. as found in the peripheral blood and in bone marrow aspirates. The patient succumbed to massive gastrointestinal hemorrhage following cortisone treatment. Histologic examination of spleen and loose areolar tissue suggested origin of T.M.C. from both reticulum cells and fibroblasts. Focal osteosclerosis in the vertebrae probably represents a lesion related to the basic disorder.