Philadelphia negative, Bcr-Abl positive chronic myeloid leukemia associated with pure red cell aplasia

Pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) is a rare disorder which is associated with thymoma, viral infections and autoimmune diseases. A few cases of PRCA during the clinical course of CML have been reported and these usually terminate in blastic crisis and death, suggesting a poor prognosis. However, only one case of Philedelphia chromosome negative, Bcr-Abl positive CML associated with PRCA has been reported. Here, we present a second case report of a Philedelphia negative, Bcr-Abl positive CML associated with PRCA who was unresponsive to all the chemotherapeutic regimens. We conclude that the present case supports the idea that the development of PRCA in the course of CML may be a bad prognostic sign.