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2 patients with coexistent polycythaemia Vera and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia are described. A 61-year-old man presented with an increased packed cell volume (PCV) and a leucoerythroblastic blood picture, which was reversible upon treatment, neutrophil leucocytosis, bone marrow lymphocyte infiltration and splenomegaly, and subsequently developed lymphomas, blood lymphocytosis and thrombocytosis. The second case was a 58-year-old female presenting with increased PCV and leucocyte alkaline phosphatase score. She later had neutrophil leucocytosis, thrombocytosis, lymphocytosis, lymphomas and splenomegaly. These cases, together with 6 cases published by others, suggest that an association exists between the two diseases.

8 patients with clinical and haematological features suggestive of hairy cell leukaemia are described. During their initial illness morphologic and cytochemical evidence of hairy cell leukaemia were lacking in all but 2 patients. A common highly characteristic histopathologic finding was reticulin fibrosis in the bone marrow, present in all patients at first presentation. The term spongy lymphoid rnyelofibrosis is proposed for such cases, which may represent a variant type of hairy cell leukaemia or an early stage of the disease.

We have recently seen four patients with myelomatosis which terminated as acute leukaemia.