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Megakaryoblastic leukemia presenting as a temporal bone granulocytic sarcoma. Case report
B A Kaufman1, L Jones, M M Zutter
1Department of Neurological Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis Children's Hospital, Missouri.
Journal of Neurosurgery
|July 1, 1993
Summary
Acute megakaryoblastic leukemia can present unusually as a temporal bone tumor in infants. Early leukemia diagnosis is crucial for skull lesions, even without systemic signs.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Oncology
- Hematology
- Neurosurgery
Background:
- Acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (AMKL) is a rare subtype of acute myeloid leukemia.
- Granulocytic sarcoma, a tumor mass of myeloid blasts, can be an extramedullary manifestation of leukemia.
Observation:
- This case report details an infant with an unusual presentation of AMKL.
- The leukemia manifested as a temporal bone granulocytic sarcoma.
- The infant showed no systemic signs of leukemia at the time of presentation.
Findings:
- Leukemia, specifically AMKL presenting as granulocytic sarcoma, should be considered in the differential diagnosis of skull and skull-based lesions in infants.
- Neuroradiological imaging findings of such lesions are not unique to leukemia.
- Surgical intervention is primarily for diagnostic tissue acquisition and infection management.
Implications:
- Highlights the importance of considering leukemia in the differential diagnosis of pediatric skull masses.
- Emphasizes that absence of systemic leukemia symptoms does not exclude the diagnosis.
- Underscores the diagnostic role of surgery in such rare presentations.