Abstract
Three cases of unusually high leukocytosis in patients with advanced lung cancer were presented. Case 1: a 68-year-old man, adenocarcinoma of bilateral lungs, Max. WBC 98,600/mm3 with a differential count of 52.5% band neutrophils, 44.0% segmented neutrophils, 0.5% eosinophils, 1.5% monocytes and 1.5% lymphocytes. Case 2: a man aged 62, epidermoid carcinoma of the right lung, Max. WBC 52,600/mm3 with a differential count of 65.0% band neutrophils, 30.5% segmented neutrophils, 2.5% monocytes, and 2.0% lymphocytes. Case 3: a 70-year-old male, Max. WBC 51,875/mm3 with a differential count of 52.0% band neutrophils, 34.0% segmented neutrophils, 0.5% basophils, 8.0% monocytes, and 5.5% lymphocytes.
No immature neutrophils could be found on usual differential count and even among 10,000 neutrophils of peripheral blood smears.
A review of the literature concerning with leukemoid reaction, unusual leukocytosis and hyperleukocytosis, and our clinical experience lead to the conclusion that the 3 cases were not those of leukemoid reaction but should be referred to as the cases of hyperleukocytosis.
