Review on gall bladder myeloid sarcoma: A great masquerader

Abstract

Pain in abdomen has wide differentials and narrowing down the clinical possibilities depends on type of pain, location, characterization which is usually assisted by imaging studies. Cholecystitis and cholelithiasis are amongst the common causes of acute abdomen. This study reviews the literature for the clinical characteristics, differential diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of reported cases of gallbladder myeloid sarcoma (GB-MS) who presented with abdominal symptoms. A total of 17 cases of GB-MS were studied. The median age was 52 years with age range of 23 to 84 years. All except 1 patient presented with abdominal symptoms. Based on imaging or pathological studies, 3 cases were initially confused with gallbladder lymphoma or cancer. Only 5 patients were treated with AML like chemotherapy. Treatment given included combinations of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. None of the cases underwent HSCT for GB-MS. Seven patients were alive till the time of last F/U, 9 succumbed to death while F/U of 1 patient was not available. Irrespective of treatment protocol followed suggesting the poor prognosis in GB-MS cases. In conclusion, acute abdomen complicating blood malignancies is life threatening and can be devastating if not detected and treated in a timely fashion.