2017 Volume 39 Issue 4 Pages 343-348
Background. To diagnose the leukemic pulmonary infiltration (LPI) of adult T cell leukemia (ATL), a transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) is usually recommended, but the usefulness of a flow cytometric analysis of the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cells is unclear. Case. A 63-year-old woman complaining of chronic cough visited our clinic. Chest computed tomography showed abnormal infiltrative shadows of the bilateral lungs. Seven-day antibiotic therapy was ineffective. After two months, abnormal lymphoid cells appeared in the peripheral blood, and anti-human T cell leukemia virus antibody was significantly positive. A BALF cell count analysis showed marked atypical lymphocytosis. A flow cytometric analysis of the BALF cells showed that atypical lymphoid cells were positive for CD4 and CD25 and negative for CD7. Conclusion. A flow cytometric analysis of the BALF cells proved useful for the diagnosis of LPI of ATL cells.
