Granulocytic sarcoma of the chest wall at site of Hickman catheter tract.

ABSTRACT

Insertion of a Hickman central venous catheter before administration of induction chemotherapy is a common practice in treatment of patients with acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML). Granulocytic sarcoma associated with AML may be the initial clinical manifestation of newly diagnosed or relapsed AML, heralding systemic involvement by weeks to months. A case of granulocytic sarcoma of the chest wall occurring as subcutaneous nodules along a scar of a previous Hickman catheter tract in a 45 year old female patient with AML is described. The patient who was in first complete remission, developed granulocytic sarcoma simultaneously with complaints associated with leukemic CNS infiltration. This is the second case described of granulocytic sarcoma of the chest wall at the site of a Hickman catheter tract. The simultaneous CNS and chest wall manifestations raise the interesting question whether both sites behaved as sanctuaries for resistant leukemic cells, in this case.