Platelet satellitism to basophils in a patient with chronic myelocytic leukaemia.

Platelet satellitism to basophil granulocytes was observed in a patient with chronic myelocytic leukaemia. This phenomenon occurred with peripheral basophil cells obtained from venous blood anticoagulated with EDTA. Previous reports have demonstrated platelet satellitism to polymorphonuclear neutrophils and monocytes but not to other types of white blood cells. The cause of the platelet satellitism in this CML case remains unclear. It is suggested that this rare phenomenon should be considered in evaluating the platelet number in CML.