Disseminated atypical tuberculosis-antedating the clinical onset of neoplasia

Two cases of disseminated atypical tuberculosis are presented in which the infection anteceded by over four years the development of acute granulocytic leukemia on one and Hodgkin's Disease in the other patient. The presence of disseminated atypical mycobacteriosis in the absence of a clearcut underlying illness suggests a "preneoplastic state." It should alert the clinician to the possibility of a neoplastic disorder which may not become clinically manifest for several years.