Acute lymphocytic leukaemia terminating in malignant histiocytosis. A case report and literature review.

A 5-year-old Black girl with acute lymphatic leukaemia died after a short illness during which haematological remission was induced with standard chemotherapeutic agents. At autopsy an unexpected finding was involvement of the spleen, lymph nodes, bone marrow and liver by malignant histiocytosis (MH). There was also evidence of residual leukaemia. A review of the literature revealed 11 other cases with a similar association of leukaemia preceding MH; in 8 of these the leukaemia was of the acute lymphatic type, in 2 of the monocytic type and in 1 of an unusual atypical large lymphoid cell type. The clinico-pathological features of these cases are reviewed.