Leucemia prolinfocítica T variante de células cerebriformes: presentación de un caso y revisión de la literatura / Cerebriform variant type of T cell prolymphocytic leukemia: report of one case

T cell Prolymphocytic Leukemia (T-PLL) is a rare and aggressive mature T cell Lymphocyte Leukemia. Twenty five percent of cases present as a small cell variant, and only 5% as a cerebriform variant. We report a 58 year-old man with rapidly progressive severe leukocytosis, skin lesions, lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly and pleural effusion. The lymphocytes had a cerebriform type. The diagnosis of T-PLL variant was made by morphology and immunophenotype study of peripheral blood. Karyotype was found to be complex. He was refractory to chemotherapy and died two months later.