Relapse of acute myelogenous leukemia as a cerebellar myeloblastoma showing megakaryoblastic differentiation.

Abstract

Myeloblastomas (granulocytic sarcomas) occurring within the central nervous system (CNS) are extremely rare lesions that may develop in patients with acute or chronic myeloproliferative disorders. The majority of such lesions involve brain or spinal cord by contiguous spread from meningeal or bony sites, rather than originating within the CNS parenchyma. We describe a patient with acute myelogenous leukemia in remission, who developed a purely intraparenchymal cerebellar myeloblastoma with megakaryocytic differentiation. The neoplastic cells expressed the megakaryocytic markers factor VIII-related antigen and platelet glycoprotein-IIIa (CD61), and showed ultrastructural features that were indicative of megakaryocytic differentiation. Clinically, myeloblastomas of the CNS invoke a broad differential diagnosis that includes abscess, hemorrhage, and metastatic neoplasms because of their intraparenchymal location and radiologic features. Although they are rare, myeloblastomas should be included in the histopathologic differential diagnosis of a poorly differentiated neoplasm occurring within the CNS, particularly in a patient with a history of myeloproliferative or myelodysplastic disease.