Spinal granulocytic sarcoma (chloroma) presenting as acute cord compression in a nonleukemic patient

The case of a previously healthy 24-year-old man diagnosed with extradural thoracic granulocytic sarcoma with no evidence of bone marrow or other hematological involvement is described. The tumor was removed totally by microsurgery. The histopathological examination was consistent with granulocytic sarcoma. Granulocytic sarcomas are most commonly found in the context of an acute myelogenous leukemia or in chronic myelogenous leukemia. They rarely have been reported in otherwise healthy patients without any evidence of systemic disease. A review of the literature revealed only 14 more nonleukaemic cases with granulocytic sarcoma causing thoracic spinal cord compression.