Adult T cell leukaemia lymphoma in a non-aboriginal Australian woman with no apparent risk factors.

OBJECTIVE

To present a case of adult T cell leukaemia lymphoma (ATLL) in a non-Aboriginal Australian woman with no apparent risk factor.

CLINICAL FEATURES: A 43-year-old Australian woman of European descent presented with a febrile illness associated with generalised lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly.

INVESTIGATIONS: There was lymphocytosis in the peripheral blood with a T helper cell phenotype. There were also lytic bone lesions with associated hypercalcaemia. HTLV-1 antibody was detected by agglutination assay and confirmed by western blot test.

TREATMENT AND OUTCOME: After initial response to CHOP chemotherapy (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, prednisolone), she relapsed and died with central nervous system involvement eight months after the initial diagnosis.

CONCLUSION

To our knowledge this is only the third case of ATLL in a non-Aboriginal person in Australia.