Leukaemia cutis in a patient with acute myelogenous leukaemia: case report

Leukaemia cutis is a specific lesion of leukaemia in which there is leukaemic cell deposit in the skin. There are few reports of this condition in our environment. Several mechanisms have been postulated for the pathogenesis of the disease. One of which is the tissue selective homing of a unique sub-population of malignant clone of cells. The presence of leukaemia cutis does not seem to worsen the prognosis as the acute myeloid leukaemia is an equally lethal disease. The fatality of the disease is compounded by the unavailability of the right regimen in our patient. This paper documents a case of leukaemia cutis in a patient initially diagnosed to have AML who developed skin lesion in remission. A skin biopsy was found helpful in diagnosing the first sign of relapse in a patient in haematological remission.