Naomi Dempsey, Moh’d Khushmann, Peter Hosein, Clifford Blieden, Jennifer Chapman-Fredricks and Ronan Swords
Acute myeloid leukemia with the translocation (8;16)(p11;p13) is a rare type of acute leukemia with a number of unique features including erythrophagocytosis, extramedullary disease, and poor prognosis with high relapse rate. These cases of AML are often categorized as M4, M5a, or M5b AML under the FAB system of AML classification. However, the clinical and pathological features of AML with t(8;16) (p11;p13) do not fit into any of these French- American-British (FAB) classification system subtypes, nor is it recognized as a recurrent genetic abnormality within the WHO classification system. Here, we report the case of a 50-year-old female with a history of low-grade carcinoid tumor on surveillance who developed de novo AML with histiocytic differentiation and t(8;16)(p11;p13). Immunohistochemistry and morphology of the patient’s bone marrow biopsy was not consistent with any specific AML subtype, which resulted in diagnostic and therapeutic delays. AML with t(8;16)(p11;p13) has been described a number of times in the literature as a unique leukemic syndrome based on clinical, cytochemical, and DNA microarray features. As such, AML with t(8;16)(p11;p13) should be added to the WHO classification system list of AML with recurrent genetic abnormalities.