Esophageal cancer complicated by acute myelofibrosis--report of an autopsy case.

An autopsy case of esophageal cancer complicated by myelofibrosis was studied. A 62-year-old Japanese patient with esophageal cancer, received surgical treatment and then splenectomy. The resected spleen was normal in appearance. Five months later he received radiation therapy for the cancer. After the therapy, his blood profile revealed thrombocytopenia and leukoerythroblastosis, and the bone marrow punctures were dry tap. He died of disseminated fungal infections at eleven months after the first operation. An autopsy of the patient revealed a striking increase in the megakaryocytes and a moderate increase in the reticulin fibers in the bone marrow. Myeloid metaplasia was noted in the lymph nodes, kidneys, and other organs and tissues, although the lymph nodes were not grossly swollen. These findings suggest esophageal cancer complicated by acute myelofibrosis. This it the first case report on esophageal cancer complicated by acute myelofibrosis.