A case of chronic myeloid leukaemia presenting as megakaryocytic blast crisis (AML M7)

Acute megakaryocytic leukaemia (AMeL) is a rare subtype of acute myeloid leukaemia, which can be frequently misdiagnosed as acute myelofibrosis or myelosclerosis [1]. Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) presenting primarily as megakaryocytic blast crisis is very rare, with very few case reports published to date [2, 3]. This case report describes a 36-year-old woman who presented with anaemia and massive splenomegaly with peripheral blood and bone marrow showing features of AMeL. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction and gel-electrophoretic study of peripheral blood leucocytes demonstrated breakpoint cluster region–Abelson oncogene translocation encoding for p210 fusion protein. Megakaryocytic blast crisis as the primary presentation of CML is very rare and requires clinical correlation and additional cytogenetic studies to determine the diagnosis.