Primary lymphedema and acute leukemia--is there a link?

The lymphedema service in Glasgow has been treating patients with lymphedema of all causes since 1991. In the past five years 3 patients with primary lymphedema have been diagnosed with myelodysplasia (leading to acute leukemia) or acute leukemia. These are relatively unusual malignancies given the ages of the patients and all three of these patients died within an average of 12 months of diagnosis. A connection between the presence of primary lymphedema and the subsequent development of the hematological disorder is postulated. Standard marrow cytogenetics failed to identify a common abnormality but the authors feel that further study is warranted.