Abnormal Uterine Bleeding as the Presenting Symptom of Hematologic Cancer

To estimate the percentage of women with a hematologic cancer who present with abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB).

We performed a retrospective analysis of the records of women with hematologic malignancies treated at our institution from January 2002 through January 2016. Women with AUB as the chief presenting symptom were identified.

Of the 10,682 women with hematologic malignancies, 38 had AUB as their chief presenting symptom. These women were young (median age 34 years), premenopausal, and otherwise healthy. The top four additional presenting symptoms were fatigue, dyspnea or shortness of breath, bruising or petechiae, and fever, with means (95% confidence interval) of 58% (41-74%), 42% (26-59%), 42% (26-59%), and 24% (11-40%), respectively. The complete blood count on initial presentation with AUB revealed that 33 (87%) women had anemia (mean hemoglobin level 8.6 g/dL) and 34 (89%) had thrombocytopenia (mean platelet count 81,000/microliter). Twelve (32%) women had neutropenia, eight (21%) women had normal white blood cell counts, and 18 (47%) women had leukocytosis. Thirty-three women (87%) were diagnosed with acute leukemia, one with myelodysplastic syndrome (3%) and four (11%) with chronic leukemia.

We estimate the incidence of AUB as the chief presenting symptom is 3.6 cases per 1,000 women with hematologic cancer. These young, otherwise healthy women who present with acute, new-onset heavy menstrual bleeding in conjunction with thrombocytopenia or pancytopenia should be referred to hematology for evaluation of possible hematologic malignancy.