Concurrent chronic myelomonocytic leukemia and gastric carcinoma: a case report and literature review

BACKGROUND: Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) is a rare, malignant, clonal hematopoietic disorder with features of both myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN). It is classified as MDS/MPN overlap syndrome by the World Health Organization (WHO), and the prognosis is generally poor. Solid tumors are rarely associated with or are secondary to CMML. CASE DESCRIPTION: We here reported a case of a 75-year-old female patient with persistent peripheral blood monocytosis and bone marrow blasts ≤20%. A diagnosis of CMML was made. Unexpectedly, she presented with recurrent melena and red blood cell (RBC) transfusions were ineffective. Capsule endoscopy revealed gastric space-occupying lesions, and pathological biopsy confirmed gastric adenocarcinoma. Because of the patient’s history of coronary heart disease and the fact that she underwent percutaneous coronary intervention with stenting less than half a year ago, the diagnosis and treatment of this patient required a multidisciplinary team of hematologists, oncologists, anesthesiologists and cardiologists. CONCLUSIONS: Physicians should consider the possibility of other malignant solid tumors in patients with CMML. For patients at high risk for gastrointestinal endoscopy, capsule endoscopy may be a safer way to determine if a patient needs further endoscopic biopsy. There are currently no guidelines for the treatment of CMML with gastric cancer.