Liver cancer concurrent with chronic myelocytic leukemia and extreme thrombocytosis: a rare case report

Chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML) can occasionally occur after long-term chemotherapy for solid tumors; solid tumors secondary to chemotherapy and biotherapy for CML have also been reported. However, concurrence of these two phenomena in an untreated patient has seldom been reported. Herein, we describe the case of a female patient in her early 60 s who was transferred to the liver surgery department after the discovery of a large liver mass and elevated plasma alpha-fetoprotein levels. She was initially diagnosed with liver cancer. Blood tests indicated an increased platelet count (2464 × 10⁹/L). Chromosomal examination from a bone marrow biopsy indicated the presence of the t(9;22) translocation, and subsequent fluorescence in situ hybridization and PCR were positive for the BCR-ABL rearrangement. A diagnosis of CML was made. The patient received hydroxyurea and imatinib to treat CML and underwent subsequent platelet-lowering therapy and a liver biopsy, which suggested moderately poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma or potentially hepatic metastatic carcinoma. However, the patient refused further pathological examination or screening for the site of the primary tumor. She died 6.5 months after discharge. The exact relationship between the two tumors remains unclear, and more patients need to be evaluated.