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Myeloid Sarcoma of the Nasopharynx Mimicking an Aggressive Lymphoma

  • Case Report
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Abstract

Background

Myeloid sarcoma (MS) is a rare extra-medullary tumour of the myeloid lineage, which can be a difficult diagnosis to make.

Case presentation

We report the case of a 73-year-old male with a right-sided nasopharyngeal mass revealed on CT scan and MRI.

Results

An initial cytological and histological examination suggested a high-grade lymphoma. Nevertheless, the final diagnosis was a MS with an unusual involvement of the nasopharynx that was treated with a conventional induction leukemia therapy. Eight months later, the patient had persistent thrombocytopenia and a bone marrow aspiration showed the dysplasia of a high grade myelodysplastic syndrome and cytogenetics detected t(3;21). The patient was treated with a 5-Azacitidine (Vidaza) protocol until overt progression and disease evolution.

Conclusion

In conclusion few cases of MS involving the nasopharynx have been reported. Its diagnosis is often difficult and should be considered especially when a high index of suspicion is present and the immunophenotype of the malignant haematological cells is not clearly in favour of a lymphoma.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Lorna Saint-Ange for editing.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare they have no conflict of interest/no financial disclosure to declare.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Haematology Department, Institut Gustave Roussy (IGR), 114 rue Edouard Vaillant, 94805, Villejuif, France

    Jacques Raphael, Colette Hanna, Vincent Ribrag & Stephane De Botton

  2. Biology and Pathology Department, Institut Gustave Roussy (IGR), Villejuif, France

    Alexander Valent, Nathalie Auger, Odile Casiraghi & Veronique Saada

Authors
  1. Jacques Raphael
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  2. Alexander Valent
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  3. Colette Hanna
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  4. Nathalie Auger
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  5. Odile Casiraghi
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  6. Vincent Ribrag
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  7. Stephane De Botton
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  8. Veronique Saada
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jacques Raphael.

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Raphael, J., Valent, A., Hanna, C. et al. Myeloid Sarcoma of the Nasopharynx Mimicking an Aggressive Lymphoma. Head and Neck Pathol 8, 234–238 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12105-013-0495-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12105-013-0495-3

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