Conjunctival involvement with T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia: Report of a case and review of the literature

T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia is a rare and highly aggressive hematological neoplasm. A patient with T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia presented with bilateral perilimbal conjunctival infiltrates. Conjunctival biopsy showed aggregates of large atypical lymphocytes in the substantia propria with a concentration of atypical cells in the perivascular areas. Immunophenotyping of the malignant cells identified an abnormal clonal T-cell population consistent with T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia. A literature review of all reports of conjunctival involvement with leukemia was performed. The three cases of ocular prolymphocytic leukemia, including the one case of ocular T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia, are discussed in detail as well as 14 reported clinical cases of biopsy-proven conjunctival leukemia. The majority of cases occurred in the setting of acute leukemia, and conjunctival involvement was frequently a presenting sign of the disease or signified disease relapse. Conjunctival involvement with leukemia was consistent with good visual acuity; however, it portended a poor prognosis.