Hairy cell leukemia presenting as a discrete liver mass: diagnosis by fine needle aspiration biopsy.

Hairy cell leukemia, a chronic low-grade lymphoproliferative disorder first recognized in mid 1920's typically involves the lymphoreticular system, especially the spleen and the bone marrow. Clinically, it tends to present with pancytopenia and splenomegaly. Liver involvement, if present, is usually in a sinusoidal and a periportal pattern. We report a case of hairy cell leukemia associated with a liver mass 20 years after the initial presentation. To our knowledge, this is the first case of hairy cell leukemia presenting as a solid liver mass diagnosed by a percutaneous ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration biopsy to be reported in the English literature. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.