Masquerade syndrome with iris thickening and ciliary body swelling due to hematopoietic malignancy

Background: Iris thickening and ciliary body swelling associated with hematopoietic malignancy are uncommon. We report 2 cases in which these conditions occurred together. Case Reports: Case 1 was a 34-year-old male. Ocular examination findings of anterior uveitis in his left eye with iris thickening and ciliary body swelling were confirmed by ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM). Large, atypical lymphocytes were detected in the aqueous humor. We suspected hematopoietic malignancy and diagnosed aggressive natural killer (NK)-cell leukemia by bone marrow biopsy. The anterior uveitis resolved after a course of systemic chemotherapy. Case 2 was a 65-year-old female in whom Burkitt's lymphoma had been diagnosed who complained of blurred vision and pain in her right eye. Ocular examinations revealed severe iridocyclitis and high intraocular pressure and UBM revealed iris thickening and ciliary body swelling and many atypical lymphocytes were detected in the aqueous humor, leading us to suspect that lymphoma cells had invaded the eye. Local radiation to the eye resulted in resolution of the iridocyclitis. Conclusion: Hematopoietic cancer cells can invade the aqueous humor and cause distinctive unilateral uveitis with iris thickening and ciliary body swelling. UBM is useful in the diagnosis of this condition.