Aleukaemic leukaemia presenting with pathological fracture
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Updated: Apr 27, 2026

Assessment of the Metabolic Profile of Primary Leukemia Cells
Published on: November 21, 2018
Gilbert T Chua1, Kam Ching Chow2, Jason Chi Chiu So3
1Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
Abstract:
A 19-month-old Chinese girl presented with pathological fracture of her right distal tibia. Peripheral blood revealed no abnormal cells, electrolytes were normal and bone biopsy at the fracture site only showed small aggregates of unremarkable lymphocytes. A bone marrow study could not provide a definitive diagnosis of acute leukaemia on morphology and immunohistochemistry. A diagnosis of precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia was unequivocally confirmed by a cytogenetic study which showed a hyperdiploid clone with gain of chromosome 4 among other trisomies.
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