Plasma cell leukemia (PCL): A report on 15 patients

Fifteen patients presenting with plasma cell leukemia (PCL) are reported in detail. The clinicopathologic features of PCL differ from typical myeloma and resemble those of acute leukemia: patients with PCL have less bone disease but a much higher incidence of organomegaly and tissue infiltration as well as diffuse marrow involvement and more pronounced pancytopenia. One of the reported patients developed meningeal plasma cell leukemia and is reported in detail. Cytomorphologic assessment of PCL cells showed nuclear immaturity and obvious nuclear/cytoplasmic asynchrony. Despite the use of cytotoxic agents known to be effective in myeloma, the prognosis in PCL is poor, and the median survival of the reported patients was only 2 mo.