Abstract
A rare case of Behcet's disease associated with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)
is described. A 50-year-old Korean female suffering recurrent oral ulcer,
genital ulcer, fatigue, arthralgia in both knees and fever was diagnosed as
Behcet's disease. The findings of bone marrow aspirates were consistent with
refractory anemia, a subtype of myelodysplastic syndrome. Chromosomal analysis
of bone marrow cells revealed 46,XX,-8,-20,+der(8)t(8;20)(p23;p10),+der(8)
t(8;20)(p23;q10)[30]. The chromosomal changes found in this patient were
different from those of previous reports, which mostly revealed trisomy 8. If
anemia, low reticulocyte count and dyspoietic cells are sustained in Behcet's
disease, physicians should be alert to the possibility of MDS with aberration in
chromosome 8 and perform a bone marrow study for the proper diagnosis and
treatment of the disease. We presented a case of Behcet's disease associated
with MDS, which is the first Korean case.