A Rare Case of Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia With Blast Count Less Than 20% in Bone Marrow

One of the diagnostic criteria for Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia (AML) is the presence of 20% myeloid blasts in peripheral blood or bone marrow. Some cases with recurrent cytogenetic abnormalities also fall in this category with blast cell count less than 20%. Thus, in the presence of these genetic abnormalities, the patients are classified as AML regardless of blast cell count. One of these genetic heterogeneities is t(8; 21) (q22, q22.1) which is more commonly seen in children and young adults. In this study, a 14-year-old boy is reported with a final diagnosis of AML, which was presented with fever and bicytopenia, clinically suspicious for acute leukemia. Laboratory results reported less than 20% blasts in bone marrow aspiration smears but genetic alteration t(8; 21) (q22, q22.1) was detected by molecular exams.