Chronic eosinophilic leukemia-not otherwise specified transformation into acute myeloid leukemia

Abstract

Chronic eosinophilic leukemia-not otherwise specified (CEL-NOS) is a rare disorder with hypereosinophilia and an increase number of blood or marrow blasts (<20%) or an evidence of eosinophilic clonality. It is an aggressive disorder with a high rate of acute transformation and resistant to conventional treatment. Its clinical and pathological picture vaguely overlap and adds to diagnostic confusion with idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome (IHES) which is characterized by sustained overproduction of eosinophils over a period of 6 months with multiple organ damage. Due to the difficulty in distinguishing CEL from IHES, the true incidence of this disease is rare. We report a case of CEL-NOS, which was preceded by IHES and terminated in acute myeloid leukemia with maturation (M2) in a 38-year-old male.

Keywords

• Acute myeloid leukemia with maturation
• chronic eosinophilic leukemia-not otherwise specified
• idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome