Hairy Cell Leukemia With Systemic Lymphadenopathy: Detection Of Braf Mutations In Both Lymph Node And Peripheral Blood Specimens

A 47-year-old woman with pancytopenia, excessive systemic lymphadenopathy and splenomegaly was referred to our hospital. The peripheral blood (PB) smear findings indicated neutropenia with lymphoid cells exhibiting hairy projections, while the histological findings of the cervical lymph node (LN) suggested hairy cell leukemia (HCL). In addition, the BRAF V600E mutation was detected, and the immunoglobulin gene rearrangement patterns were identical in both the cervical LN and PB specimens. Based on these findings, we diagnosed the patient with systemic lymphadenopathy due to HCL. This is the first report of a BRAF mutation detected in both the PB and LN at the onset of HCL.