Gaucher's disease associated with chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Abstract

To date, only five cases of associated Gaucher's disease and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) have been reported in the world literature. The exact relationship of the two diseases to one another has been puzzling, and Gaucher's disease has been viewed as both a cause of and an epiphenomenon to chronic lymphocytic leukemia. In this case, because of the temporal relationship of the two conditions and the confirmation of Gaucher's disease by both histochemical means and electron microscopy, we believe that a cause/effect interaction may exist. However, the exact mechanism by which this may occur is, as yet, speculative.