Adult T‐cell leukaemia lymphoma in an Aborigine

Abstract

A 44-year-old Aborigine with Adult T-cell Leukaemia/Lymphoma (ATLL) due to HTLV-I is reported. He presented with transverse myelitis of subacute onset, and subsequently developed frank T-cell leukaemia complicated by splenomegaly and hypercalcaemia. Cell surface marker studies showed a phenotype of CD3+ CD4+ CD8- CD25+, and serological and molecular studies confirmed HTLV-I infection. This is the first report of ATLL in an Australian Aborigine.