CHRONIC IMMUNITY-DRIVEN POLYARTHRITIS IN HAIRY-CELL LEUKEMIA - REPORTOF A CASE AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Hairy cell leukemia cam be responsible for polyarthritis due either to leukemic infiltration or to immunity-driven inflammation. The second variant can antedate or post-date the clinical onset of leukemic sympt oms and usually presents as rheumatoid arthritis, more rarely as lupus or scleroderma, The presence of hairy cells in the joint fluid does n ot rule out autoimmune polyarthritis. The main differential diagnoses are Felty's syndrome and large granular lymphocyte leukemia. We report a case of hairy cell leukemia with seropositive rheumatoid arthritis.