Acute promyelocytic leukemia presenting as a pelvic mass

The case history of a child with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is reported to illustrate both an unusual presentation of APL as a pelvic mass and to review the pathophysiology and treatment of the disease. Therapy of APL consists of chemotherapy, namely adriamycin/daunomycin for remission induction, and of control of disseminated intravascular coagulation. A chloroma, if present, may require local irradiation in addition to chemotherapy. With aggressive management, the number of prolonged remissions may be greater for APL than for any other form of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), with significant numbers of patients achieving five-year survival.