White Spleen in Hairy Cell Leukemia – Case Report and Review of the Literature

Hairy cell leukemia is a malignant chronic lymphoproliferative disease that covers for about 2% of all leukemia and occurs four times more often in males.It is most often manifested by splenomegaly.Splenomegaly often becomes symptomatic and manifests as pain in the epigastrium and feeling of flatulence and discomfort in the abdomen.Cladribine and Pentostatin are purine analogues and they represent the first line in the treatment of this disease.Splenectomy is applied in patients with massive symptomatic splenomegaly, severe pancytopenia, as well as a temporary measure in pregnant women when symptomatology is expressed.In our work, we present a patient who experienced a relapse of the disease after two cycles of chemotherapy, as confirmed by biopsies of the bone marrow.From this case can be concluded that even in the era of the use of purine analogues, splenectomy can be of great benefit in the treatment, and determinant of its further outcome for those affected by Hairy cell leukemia.