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Leukemia Cutis

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Deadly Dermatologic Diseases

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Abstract

Leukemia cutis (LC) is the infiltration of skin by malignant cells in the context of leukemia. Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is associated with leukemia cutis in approximately 4 % of cases overall, but certain subtypes have higher rates of LC. Acute myelomonocytic leukemia (FAB classification) represented the majority (56 %) in one large case series. Abnormalities of chromosome 8 on molecular studies were more common in patients with AML and leukemia cutis (36 %) than in patients with AML without leukemia cutis (2.8 %). In cases which have associated coagulopathy, hemorrhagic lesions may be present. Leukemia cutis prior to bone marrow involvement in AML is exceptional (0.01 % of total cases, 0.1 % of leukemia cutis cases). Relapse of skin disease prior to bone marrow involvement is more common but is still quite rare. In a large series of AML patients, additional extramedullary leukemic spread, particularly meningeal disease, were present in 90 % and 33 % of patients with leukemia cutis, respectively. “Congenital” leukemia refers to that which presents within 1 month of birth and is usually of myeloid lineage, usually FAB class M4 or M5. Leukemia cutis in congenital leukemia occurs in 25–30 % of affected infants, often in those with high tumor burden and hepatosplenomegaly.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Assistant Professor Department of Dermatology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, USA

    David R. Crowe MD

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  1. David R. Crowe MD
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Correspondence to David R. Crowe MD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Assistant Professor Department of Dermatology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

    David R. Crowe

  2. Dermpath Diagnostics, Tampa, Florida, USA

    Michael Morgan

  3. MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio, USA

    Stephen Somach

  4. Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Kara Trapp

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

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Crowe, D.R. (2016). Leukemia Cutis. In: Crowe, D., Morgan, M., Somach, S., Trapp, K. (eds) Deadly Dermatologic Diseases. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31566-9_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31566-9_4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31564-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31566-9

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