Abstract
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with specific genetic abnormalities is a clinically,
biologically, and prognostically distinct category with some of the entities in it
displaying characteristic morphology. AML with t(8:21) is one such subtype carrying
favorable prognosis with specific blast morphology. Eosinophilia, characteristically,
has been described till date in AML with inv (16); however, hypereosinophilia with
prominent dysplastic features has yet not been seen with any AML subtype. We report
the case of an 8-year-old child presenting with massive splenomegaly, hypereosinophilia,
and low marrow blast percentage. The initial clinical and hematological impression
was that of a chronic myeloproliferative neoplasm, which was later diagnosed as AML
with t(8:21) with the help of cytogenetic studies. The case report highlights the
unusual and extremely rare presentation of this AML subtype and the importance of
cytogenetic studies in definite categorization, especially in cases with overlapping
morphological and immunophenotypic findings.
Keywords
Acute myeloid leukmia - cytogenetics - hypereosinophilia - splenomegaly
