Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm (BPDCN) in an Elderly Female: A Rare Case

Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare hematologic malignancy derived from type 2 Dendritic cells (immature Plasmacytoid dendritic cells). It is an aggressive lymphoma and most commonly presents as nonpruritic cutaneous lesions. It can also involve the bone marrow, lymph nodes, or circulating peripheral blasts. Here we present a 61-year-old female with skin bruises all over her body for the last three months associated with fatigue, night sweats, and unintentional weight loss. Her initial diagnosis was Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), but later she was diagnosed with BPDCN on tumor biopsy consistent with CD56+ neoplasm. The patient was treated with cyclophosphamide with steroid bridge. She was follow-up every week for the disseminated intravascular coagulation panel and monitored for tumor lysis syndrome. The management of the BPDCN is still unclear due to the condition’s rarity. tagraxofusp has been used for remission induction as it has a higher response rate with an acceptable toxicity profile than conventional chemotherapy. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) is recommended in patients with the first remission. For patients with relapsed/refractory disease, tagraxofusp demonstrates a good overall response, followed by HCT.