Acute megakaryocytic leukemia (m7) in a newborn with down syndrome

Patient with Down's syndrome (DS) are found to have an increased risk of developing various hematological disorders. There is 46 to 83 fold increased risk of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and 10 to 27 fold increased risk of acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL). One of the most characteristics feature of Down syndrome associated AML (DS-AML) is that vast majority of case (70%) of AML in DS are megakaryoblastic leukemia i.e. M7 as per FAB classification (DS- AMKL). Virtually, all cases of DS-AMKL occur within the first 5 years of life. The median age of presentation of AMKL is 1.8 years. We report a case of AMKL in a newborn with Down's syndrome.