Leukemia cutis presenting with fingertip hypertrophy.

BACKGROUND: Patients with leukemia often manifest cutaneous findings, which include nonspecific lesions and specific leukemic infiltrates termed leukemia cutis.

OBJECTIVE: A case of leukemia cutis involving distal finger pads is reported and literature describing hand involvement of specific leukemic infiltrates is reviewed.

METHODS AND RESULTS: An 80-year-old woman with a 10-year history of chronic lymphocytic leukemia developed painful symmetric tumors of her distal finger pads. Histopathological examination of the biopsy specimen revealed infiltration by neoplastic lymphocytes. Only a few cases of leukemia cutis involving the hands have been reported in the literature, none with this particular presentation. The clinical and histopathologic features of leukemia cutis are reviewed.

CONCLUSION: This case emphasizes the importance of obtaining a biopsy specimen for histopathological examination of any suspicious skin lesion in a patient with leukemia.