Successful treatment of hematological and extramedullary relapse of MLL-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia after bone marrow transplantation using donor leukocyte infusion

Ann Hematol. 2004 Oct;83(10):667-9. doi: 10.1007/s00277-004-0880-9. Epub 2004 Aug 5.

Abstract

Low response rates (range: 0-33%) were reported in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients who relapsed after bone marrow transplantation (BMT) and received donor leukocyte infusions (DLI). We describe an ALL patient who presented with a relapse in blood, bone marrow, breast, and axillary nodes 3 months after BMT from an unrelated donor. She achieved a second hematological complete remission (CR) after chemotherapy, with persistence of MLL-AF4 transcript in the bone marrow. DLI induced a long-lasting molecular CR that persisted on day 630 of DLI and was associated with a grade III graft-versus-host disease, which was controlled by prednisone, cyclosporine, and infliximab. This case report suggests the existence of an important graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) effect in patients with ALL and adds evidence for the activity of DLI towards extrahematological recurrences and ALL patients carrying t(4;11).

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Letter

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Bone Marrow Transplantation / methods*
  • DNA-Binding Proteins / biosynthesis*
  • Female
  • Hematopoiesis, Extramedullary*
  • Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase
  • Humans
  • Leukocyte Transfusion / methods*
  • Male
  • Myeloid-Lymphoid Leukemia Protein
  • Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / therapy*
  • Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / therapy*
  • Proto-Oncogenes
  • Transcription Factors / biosynthesis*

Substances

  • DNA-Binding Proteins
  • KMT2A protein, human
  • Transcription Factors
  • Myeloid-Lymphoid Leukemia Protein
  • Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase