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Hairy cell leukemia with large cells: long disease course with adequate response to therapy

Leukemia volume 18, pages 1912–1914 (2004)Cite this article

TO THE EDITOR

Hairy cell leukemia (HCL) is a lymphoproliferative disorder usually associated with peripheral blood pancytopenia and leukemic infiltration of bone marrow (BM) and spleen.1 The neoplastic cells are characterized by ovoid to kidney-shaped nuclei with hairy cytoplasmic projections and positivity for tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP). Flow cytometry immunophenotyping usually reveals a clonal mature B-cell population that is strongly positive for CD103, CD25, CD22, and CD11c. Significant improvements in treatment and outcome have been made in recent years.2, 3 The natural history of HCL is well documented and involves development of resistance to therapy. Here, we report three cases of HCL with significant number of large cells. Long-term follow-up indicates that their clinical course does not appear to be different from that of those patients with HCL without large cells.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Laboratory Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    X Sun

  2. Department of Hematopathology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    H M Amin

  3. Department of Leukemia, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    E J Freireich, M J Keating, H M Kantarjian, C A Koller, S M O'Brien, F Giles & M Albitar

  4. Department of Hematopathology, Quest Diagnostics Inc., Nichols Institute, San Juan Capistrano, CA, USA

    M Albitar

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  1. X Sun
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  2. H M Amin
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  3. E J Freireich
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  4. M J Keating
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  5. H M Kantarjian
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  6. C A Koller
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  7. S M O'Brien
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  8. F Giles
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  9. M Albitar
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Correspondence to M Albitar.

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Sun, X., Amin, H., Freireich, E. et al. Hairy cell leukemia with large cells: long disease course with adequate response to therapy. Leukemia 18, 1912–1914 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2403506

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