Acute Shoulder Monoarthritis in a Patient With Acute Myelomonocytic Leukemia With Novel Translocation t(5;13)

We present the case of a patient with acute myelomonocytic leukemia with trisomy 8 and novel translocation t(5;13). In addition to acute leukemia she had debilitating left shoulder arthritis due to granulocytic sarcoma formation in the joint space. Her shoulder pain did not improve during induction chemotherapy but she experienced rapid relief of symptoms with use of local radiation. Her leukemia was found to be primary refractory to chemotherapy and despite an attempt at salvage therapy she died 2 months after diagnosis.