Acute leukemia/myelodysplastic syndrome as a sequelae of carcinoma breast: a report of five cases from north India.

A second malignant neoplasm has been found to be more frequent than might be expected from the general population rates. Therapy-related myelodysplastic syndrome and acute leukemia are dreaded long-term complications of five cases of hematological malignancies following treatment for successful breast cancer therapy (therapeutic drugs or radiotherapy). We encountered carcinoma from north India over a 7-year period from 1999 to 2005. The patients presented 2-5 years after treatment of breast carcinoma. Three patients underwent surgery and received chemoradiotherapy. One patient received chemotherapy after surgery. One patient underwent only surgery and after 3 years presented with acute myeloid leukemia and bone marrow metastasis of carcinoma of the breast. At the time of presentation, all the patients had either bicytopenia or pancytopenia. A close follow-up with complete blood cell counts of the patients who previously had carcinoma of the breast is suggested for early detection of hematological abnormalities. However, the poor prognosis, limited financial resources and poor health insurance coverage results in few patients and their family members opting for treatment.

Serum transferrin receptor-ferritin index shows concomitant iron deficiency anemia and anemia of chronic disease is common in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in north India.

Anemia is a frequent cause of morbidity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We studied the prevalence of anemia of chronic disorders (ACD) and ACD with coexistent iron deficiency anemia (IDA) in patients with RA using sTfR/log ferritin ratio (sTfR - F index). Complete blood counts, percent transferrin saturation, serum ferritin, sTfR, sTfR-F index measurements were carried out in 100 anemic RA patients. Twenty-five IDA subjects without any other illness and 25 age- and sex-matched normal controls were studied. Prevalence of anemia in RA patients was 50.5%. Patients with sTfR-F index value < 1.5 were classified as pure ACD and patients with sTfR-F index value> 1.5 were classified as ACD with coexistent IDA. Using these criteria, 20% patients were found to have pure ACD and 80% patients had coexistent ACD and IDA. In the normal control group, sTfR-F index was found to be 0.16-1.8. We found that sTfR-F index can clearly distinguish IDA control cases and normal subjects with no overlap in the range of sTfR-F index.

Platelet function disorders.

Platelet function disorders are a rare cause of bleeding in hematological practice. The inherited variety includes defects in platelet adhesion, aggregation, secretion and platelet procoagulant activities. The clinical presentation is usually mild with mainly mucocutaneous bleeds. Milder phenotypes may pass off unrecognized in childhood and present later in life. Testing includes a coagulation screen, which may show a prolonged bleeding time, followed by platelet aggregation tests with agonists. Flow cytometry for platelet surface markers, membrane glycoprotein analysis and facilities for identification of the genetic defect are usually available in research laboratories. Recent advances have opened vistas for antenatal testing. Bone marrow transplantation is the only curative therapeutic option available.

Congenital dyserythropoietic anemia: clinical and hematological profile.

Congenital dyserythropoietic anemia (CDA) is a rare disorder, which manifests clinically with varying degrees of anemia and hepatosplenomegaly. These features are not pathognomic and a diagnosis of CDA is generally considered after other causes of chronic hemolytic anemia have been ruled out. The clinico-hematological profile of 10 patients with CDA is presented in this communication. Six patients had CDA type II and four had CDA type I. Age at onset of pallor ranged from birth to 9 years. Blood transfusion requirements varied from nil to monthly. This is the first report of CDA type I from India.