Chronic lymphocytic leukemia in pregnancy

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a disease predominantly of elderly men, was incidentally diagnosed in a young pregnant patient. She did not require any chemotherapy and had a normal pregnancy outcome. However, she had repeated episodes of respiratory tract infections and anemia that required multiple antibiotics and transfusions. The placenta showed increased numbers of mature-appearing lymphocytes in the intervillous space, consistent with the diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. To our knowledge this is the first reported case of chronic lymphocytic leukemia in pregnancy.