Granulocytic sarcoma of pediatric head and neck: An institutional experience

Objective: To demonstrate a case series of granulocytic sarcoma of the head and neck found in the pediatric population and review long-term outcomes. Methods: A pathology database at a tertiary hospital was searched for patients with biopsy specimens from the head and neck diagnosed as granulocytic sarcoma. Results: There were 6 cases between 1992 and 2004 that met inclusion criteria. Subjects' age ranged from 22 months to 14 years old. In three cases, the patients were diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) based on biopsy results; 2 patients were already diagnosed with AML when diagnosed with granulocytic sarcoma, and in 1 case, a relapse of AML was diagnosed. In all cases, patients began induction chemotherapy. Two patients died during induction chemotherapy from infection. The remaining 4 patients underwent bone marrow transplants. One patient had a relapse post-transplant and died. Only one patient was healthy two years post-transplant. Conclusion: The results of this series suggest granulocytic sarcoma must be on the differential when tumors present in the head and neck region in pediatric patients. In our series, 100% of the patients with granulocytic sarcoma had underlying AML. The long-term prognosis of patients with AML who developed granulocytic sarcoma is quite poor.