Hairy Cell Leukemia: A case report

ABSTRACT

Hairy cell leukemia is an uncommon lymphoreticular disorder which primarily involves bone marrow, spleen, and peripheral blood. Patients, mostly men, present with splenomegaly and pancytopenia usually. A 62-year-old man was admitted with an abdominnal mass which had grown slowly for 20 years. On physical examination, an enlarged spleen was palpated without tenderness. An abdominal CT scan showed a diffusely enlarged spleen, which measured 20 cm in greatest dimension. In the peripheral blood, many atypical lymphocytes with abundant, delicate, surface projections were noted. They had tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase(TRAP) activity. Thrombocytopenia (60,000/mm3) was observed in the complete blood counts, Other laboratory data were within normal limits. He underwent splenectomy. The submitted spleen measured 26x15x5 cm and weighed 2150 gm. It was well encapsulated and the outer surface was smooth. Cut surfaces were diffusely dark-red. White and red pulps were indistinct. There was no mass-like lesion. Microscopically, the spleen consisted of monotonous mononulcear cells which involved red pulp. The white pulp was diminished, and could be barely recognized. Cells had small round nuclei and abundant cytoplasm. Ultrastructurally, cells with numerous slender surface projections were noted. In Korea, hairy cell leukemia is exceedingly rare. We report a case of hairy cell leukemia with characteristic pathologic features of spleen as well as those of peripheral blood.