Concurrent Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma at Presentation in a Young Man: A Case Report and Literature Review

Abstract

Chronic myeloid leukaemia is a haematologic malignancy characterized by increased white cell count triggered by the constitutively expressed tyrosine kinase which is the product of an abnormal oncogene, BCR-ABL1. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is the commonest of the lymphomas. It is a lymphoid malignancy arising from the acquisition of proliferation advantage either by chromosomal translocations or mutations of genes. Both diseases have overlapping symptoms but are distinct disease entities requiring different drug treatments. Literature shows the development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in patients who had been on Imatinib treatment, however, the co-occurrence of both diseases in a patient who is chemotherapy naive is rare. This article reports the co-occurrence of chronic myeloid leukaemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and also highlights its poor prognosis, especially when patients do not receive treatments for both diseases. The article also emphasizes the need for high index of suspicion for possible non-Hodgkin lymphoma in a chronic myeloid leukaemia patient with significant lymphadenopathy.