Acute myeloid leukemia with multilineage dysplasia in an alpaca

Abstract

An 18-year-old female alpaca was presented to the Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital for chronic ill thrift over a 1-year period. Six weeks previously, an infected left mandibular cheek tooth was removed by oral extraction. On physical examination the patient was cachectic, lethargic, and weak. Abnormalities on the CBC included neutropenia, thrombocytosis, and severe nonregenerative, macrocytic, hypochromic anemia. Dysplastic nucleated erythrocytes and micromegakaryocytes were observed on the peripheral blood smear. Neutrophils, bands, and metamyelocytes appeared markedly toxic. Numerous blasts containing variable numbers of fine azurophilic granules were also observed. Based on their morphology, the cells were interpreted to be progranulocytes and myeloblasts, and a presumptive diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) was made. The blast cells accounted for 60% of the nucleated cell population on bone marrow aspirates, further supporting a diagnosis of AML with multilineage dysplasia. Post mortem examination showed infiltration of the neoplastic cells into spleen, liver, kidney, and lymph nodes. Based on histologic findings, the morphologic diagnoses were disseminated myeloid neoplasia, chronic regionally extensive tooth root abscess, and membranous glomerulonephritis. The neoplastic cells were CD172a-positive on flow cytometry, chloroacetate esterase-positive by cytochemistry, and myeloperoxidase-positive by immunohistochemistry, confirming myeloid origin. To our knowledge, this is the first case of AML with multilineage dysplasia in an alpaca, with only one other case of myelodysplasia described previously in this species.