This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: theoncologist.2009-0184v1 14/12/1205    most recent eLetters: Submit a response to this article Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services E-mail this article link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints/Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Tecchio, C. Articles by Girolomoni, G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Tecchio, C. Articles by Girolomoni, G. Social Bookmarking                               What's this?

The Community Oncologist: Case Reports

Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Leukemia: A Rapidly Evolving Disease Presenting with Skin Lesions Sensitive to Radiotherapy plus Hyperthermia

^aSection of Hematology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, ^bDepartment of Pathology, and ^dSection of Dermatology and Venereology, Department of Biomedical and Surgical Sciences, University of Verona, Verona, Italy; ^cDepartment of Radiotherapy, University Hospital of Verona, Verona, Italy

Key Words. Plasmacytoid dendritic cell leukemia • Therapy • Radiotherapy plus hyperthermia

Correspondence: Cristina Tecchio, M.D., Ph.D., Section of Hematology, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Policlinico G.B. Rossi, Piazzale L.A. Scuro, University of Verona, 37134 Verona, Italy.Telephone: 011-39-45-8124420;Fax: 011-39-45-501807;e-mail: cristina.tecchio{at}univr.it

Received August 16, 2009; accepted for publication October 24, 2009; first published online in THE ONCOLOGIST Express on November 25, 2009.

Disclosures: Cristina Tecchio: None; Chiara Colato: None; Massimiliano Bonifacio: None; Mauro Krampera: None; Sergio Maluta: None; Giovanni Pizzolo: None; Giampiero Girolomoni: None.

The content of this article has been reviewed by independent peer reviewers to ensure that it is balanced, objective, and free from commercial bias. No financial relationships relevant to the content of this article have been disclosed by the authors or independent peer reviewers.

Plasmacytoid dendritic cell leukemia (pDCL) is a rapidly evolving disease, which frequently presents with skin lesions, particularly nodules and plaques with a typical reddish-brown or brown color. Treatment of pDCL is based on multiagent chemotherapy followed by allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant, but skin lesions may be refractory to therapy. Here, we report on a 61-year-old patient affected by pDCL who first presented with multiple cutaneous nodules and plaques on the trunk. Lesions showed an excellent response to radiotherapy plus hyperthermia. Although this treatment did not avoid the systemic evolution of disease, it resolved skin lesions and prevented their relapse, thus representing a therapeutic option to be used in combination with chemotherapy regimens. The case presentation is followed by a general discussion with an emphasis on the diagnosis and treatment of this rare malignancy.

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Facebook    LinkedIn    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?