Prolymphocytic leukaemia--report of three cases.

Prolymphocytic leukaemia is a rare subtype of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. Three such cases are reported here along with clinical details. All these cases were seen in males above 5th decade of life. These patients showed moderate to massive splenomegaly, inconspicuous lymphadenopathy in two cases and one with minimal lymphadenopathy. Peripheral smear showed high leucocyte count with more than 55% of prolymphocytes. Bone marrow aspiration showed diffuse involvement; and in one with minimal lymphadenopathy, lymph node aspiration showed prolymphocytes. All the three patients died within a year after diagnosis.

Leucemia prolinfocítica, descripción de dos casos / Prolymphocytic leukemia, description of 2 cases

We present the clinical and laboratory features of 2 patients with B prolymphocitic leukemia. Both are females of the fith and seventh decade of life. One had the classical clinical picture of massive splenomegaly and a high white cell count, with characteristic prolymphocytes and the other was asymptomatic, with a low white cell count. The cells were positive to B cell lineage reagents with strong surface immunoglobuline (Ig) and unreactive to T cell antibodies. Analysis of Ig genes at the DNA level demonstrated that both cases had heavy-chain gene rearrangements, confirming the B-cell origin. These are the first patients of prolymphocytic leukemia described in Chile