Acute erythroid leukemia is a very rare subtype of acute myeloid leukemia. Leukemia is a progressive cancer in which the bone marrow and other blood-forming organs produce undeveloped or abnormal white blood cells (leukocytes) that suppress the development of normal blood cells. Acute erythroid leukemia has two subtypes: 1) erythroid leukemia (erythroid/myeloid) and 2) pure erythroid leukemia and is considered to have a poor prognosis.

Symptoms of acute erythroid leukemia include weakness, paleness, fever, hemorrhage (bleeding), enlarged liver and spleen (hepatosplenomegaly), low blood clotting factor (thrombocytopenia), and anemia.

Treatment for acute erythroid leukemia may include bone marrow transplantation with high-intensity chemotherapy or stem cell transplantation, which is currently considered to be the best available treatment. Some elderly patients may be treated with erythropoietin and granulocyte colony stimulating factor (GCSF). Patients with multidrug resistance may be treated with cyclosporin A and cyclosporin D analogue PSC 833 (valspodar), which may be combined with cytotoxic agent (drug that kills cells). The drug, sorafenib, has been reported to bring about a successful remission in a patient with acute erythroid leukemia.