Document Type : Case Report(s)
Authors
Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Science, Shiraz, Iran
Abstract
Breast cancer is among the most common malignancies in women and frequently metastasizes to the bone marrow, where it may be clinically silent or present with hematologic abnormalities. Although secondary hematologic malignancies, particularly therapy-related acute leukemias, can arise following cytotoxic chemotherapy, the simultaneous presence of metastatic breast carcinoma and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) within the bone marrow is exceptionally rare. In this study, we report a unique case of a 41-year-old woman with high-grade invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast who later developed B-cell ALL during follow-up. Initial pathology revealed extensive locally advanced breast carcinoma with dermal invasion. Approximately two years after treatment initiation, the patient developed progressive cytopenia, prompting bone marrow evaluation. Bone marrow aspiration demonstrated marked hypercellularity with over 80% blasts along with small clusters of metastatic epithelial cells. Flow cytometry confirmed a B-ALL immunophenotype, while immunohistochemistry identified breast-origin metastatic cells positive for GATA-3 and cytogenetic study on bone marrow specimen revealed t(4;11). This dual pathology highlights the diagnostic challenges of differentiating leukemic infiltration from metastatic carcinoma in bone marrow specimens and underscores the need for integrated morphologic, immunophenotypic, and immunohistochemical assessment. Recognizing such rare coexistence is essential for accurate diagnosis and appropriate clinical decision-making.
Highlights
Maral Mokhtari (google scholar)
Kiarash Noorizadeh (google scholar)
Keywords
Main Subjects
Please cite this article as: Mokhtari M, Noorizadeh K, Shokripour M, Dehghanian A, Omidifar N. Simultaneous bone marrow involvement by breast carcinoma metastasis and acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A case report. Middle East J Cancer. 2026: in press. doi: 10.30476/mejc.2026.111358.2421.
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