Philadelphia chromosome-negative acute hematopoietic malignancy: ultrastructural, cytochemical and immunocytochemical evidence of mast cell and basophil differentiation.

We describe a patient with fever and multiple osteolytic bone lesions accompanied by hypercalcemia, a duodenal ulcer, anemia, and thrombocytopenia. Bone marrow showed a dense infiltration by abnormal cells characterized by small basophil granula, erythrophagocytosis and nuclear atypia. These cells were positive for toluidine blue and partly for myeloperoxidase and chloroacetate esterase, expressed myeloid differentiation markers, and exhibited multiple numerical and structural chromosome aberrations. Molecular genetic analysis showed no breakpoint cluster region rearrangement. Electron microscopy demonstrated granula both of basophil and mast cell type. Concluding, in this patient an acute hematopoietic malignancy with many features of malignant mastocytosis but also with signs of a basophil differentiation. This is further support for a hematopoietic stem cell origin of human mast cells.