Specific cutaneous infiltrate caused by Staphylococcus aureus in a patient with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia

Abstract

We present a patient with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia who showed disseminated papules and nodules. Arguments in favor of leukemia cutis are the clinical appearance, the cyclic pattern with which the lesions appeared and disappeared, and the histologic features. The lesions reproducibly responded to treatment with antibiotics given for a Staphylococcus aureus infection. We speculate that at least in some patients, leukemic cells are recruited in the skin because of local infection and do not merely reflect autonomous growth but an inflammatory response.