[Cutaneous manifestations of leukemia]

To describe the type and frequency of cutaneous manifestations of leukemia.

Observational, descriptive study. We included patients over 16 years of age, with confirmed diagnosis of leukemia from the Hematology and Dermatology Departments of the outpatient clinic and from in-patients. Patients with bone marrow transplantation were excluded. A complete history and physical examination of the skin and appendages was performed, with biopsy and cultures if required. The cutaneous manifestations were classified as infection or drug-related, leukemic infiltration, associated dermatosis to leukemia and non-specific lesions. Descriptive statistics was employed.

We included 142 patients (62 females, 80 males) with the following diagnoses: acute myeloid leukemia (n=36), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (n=52), chronic myeloid leukemia (n=21), chronic lymphocitic leukemia (n=30) and hairy cells leukemia (n=3). 42% of patients (n=60) presented some dermatoses. There were 36 non-specific dermatoses, 21 drug-related, 20 infectious, 3 infiltrative and none associated.

Cutaneous manifestations directly related to leukemia are frequent, being the non-specific ones, the most commonly observed. However, a thorough dermatologic examination is important in these patients as part of an overall evaluation.