ecancermedicalscience

Case Report

An unusual presentation of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma

23 Jan 2018
Mohammed Tag-Adeen, Keiichi Hashiguchi, Yuko Akazawa, Ken Ohnita, Sawayama Yasushi, Niino Daisuke, Kazuhiko Nakao

Adult T-cell Leukemia/Lymphoma (ATL) is a rare disease, related to human T-lymphotropic virus-1 (HTLV-1) and presented mainly in adulthood by generalised lymphadenopathy, hepatosplenomegaly, skin lesions and hypercalcaemia, with rare gastrointestinal and/or oral manifestations. We reported this case to raise awareness and demonstrate the therapeutic challenges of this rare disease. A 49-year-old Japanese female presented with skin papules on both forearms, painful mouth ulcers and multiple neck swellings since early February 2017. Initial clinical examination and laboratory investigations were misleading and her condition was diagnosed as candidiasis. Because
of un-improvement of the case, a screening upper endoscopy was requested 2 months later and revealed characteristic oropharyngeal ulcers which were biopsied, and its pathologic examination confirmed smouldering type ATL. This case report should raise awareness of doctors and endoscopists about this disease especially in HTLV-1 endemic areas to avoid late diagnosis and help achieve earlier therapeutic decisions.

Related Articles

Sergio Luis Ramos Rodriguez, David Francisco Stein Montoro, Gabriel De la Cruz Ku, Consuelo del Rocio Luna Munoz, Cesar Ramon Razuri Bustamante
Carlos Selemane, Josefo Ferro, Cesaltina Lorenzoni, Carla Carrilho, Mamudo Rafik Ismail, Max Parkin, Lúcio Lara Santos
Omar Abdihamid, Houda Abdourahman, Abdulsadiq Ibrahim, Thinwa Kareu, Abdullahi Hadi, Abeid Omar, Miriam Mutebi
Margaret Baldwin, Brandon A Niyibizi, Daniella Rangira, Benita Rangira, Madeleine K Kazindu, Daniel Seifu, Cristina Daniela Stefan, Eulade Rugengamanzi, Achille V C Manirakiza
Salah Eddine El Herrag, Soraya Moulessehoul, Douniazad El Mehadji, Djamila Yekrou, Méghit Boumediène Khaled
Anishka Ramadhar, Phoebe N Miller, Mazvita Muchengeti, Juliana Kagura, Kathryn Chu, Cameron Gaskill