Abstract
Blastic natural killer (NK)-cell leukemia/lymphoma is a neoplasm of NK origin with aggressive behavior. The disease affects mainly elderly people and often presents with skin lesions and overt leukemia. Blastic morphology, an NK-cell immunophenotype, and lack of association with Epstein-Barr virus are the clues for the diagnosis. We report herein, the case of a patient with a blastic NK-cell leukemia/lymphoma with overt leukemia at diagnosis, who achieved a complete response after CHOP (cyclophosphamide/doxorubicin/vincristine/prednisone) chemotherapy. However, the patient relapsed a few months later and died due to disease progression. Cases of blastic NK-cell leukemia/ lymphoma previously reported are briefly reviewed.
Publication types
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Case Reports
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Review
MeSH terms
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Adolescent
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Adult
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Aged
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Aged, 80 and over
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Antigens, CD / analysis
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Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use
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Biopsy
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Bone Marrow / pathology
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Chromosome Aberrations
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Cyclophosphamide / therapeutic use
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Doxorubicin / therapeutic use
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Epstein-Barr Virus Infections / complications
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Fatal Outcome
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Female
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Humans
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Immunophenotyping
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Killer Cells, Natural / chemistry
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Killer Cells, Natural / metabolism
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Killer Cells, Natural / pathology*
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Leukemia, Lymphoid / drug therapy
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Leukemia, Lymphoid / immunology
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Leukemia, Lymphoid / pathology*
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Lymphoma / drug therapy
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Lymphoma / immunology
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Lymphoma / pathology*
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Male
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Middle Aged
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Prednisone / therapeutic use
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Skin Neoplasms / drug therapy
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Skin Neoplasms / immunology
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Skin Neoplasms / pathology*
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Vincristine / therapeutic use
Substances
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Antigens, CD
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Vincristine
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Doxorubicin
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Cyclophosphamide
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Prednisone