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Two successful deliveries of healthy children by a young woman diagnosed and treated during induction and relapsed therapy for acute promyelocytic leukemia

Dang CC, Guan YK, Lau NS, Chan SY

J Oncol Pharm Pract, 2020 Dec;26(8):2034-2037.
PMID: 32279594 DOI: 10.1177/1078155220915764

INTRODUCTION: Acute promyelocytic leukemia is an oncologic emergency. The limited cases reported in the literature have led to poor understanding of the safety of management of acute promyelocytic leukemia during pregnancy.
CASE REPORT: Herein is an acute promyelocytic leukemia case of a 22-year-old young pregnant woman who had various social problems. The patient was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia in her the second trimester of her first pregnancy.Management and outcome: She was treated with all-trans-retinoic acid with idarubicin and successfully delivered a healthy baby. She completed induction with idarubicin but defaulted her all-trans-retinoic acid, 6-mercaptopurine and methotrexate maintenance. She relapsed after one year and was salvaged with all-trans-retinoic acid high dose cytarabine and arsenic trioxide. She went into remission and had autologous stem cells collected and was planned for an autologous stem cell transplant but she defaulted. She relapsed when she was pregnant with her second baby during her third trimester (29+weeks) 10 months later. Salvage chemotherapy with arsenic trioxide, all-trans-retinoic acid and idarubicin was given. Patient underwent an emergency lower segment caesarian section at 31 weeks of pregnancy due to abnormal fetal cardiotocography. A healthy baby was delivered.
DISCUSSION: This drug regimen is controversial during pregnancy owing to the teratogenic effects and fatal retinoic acid syndrome especially in early gestation. In this case, patient was started the induction therapy of all-trans-retinoic acid treatment at her second trimester during her first pregnancy.
CONCLUSION: Our lady demonstrated the possibility of using all-trans-retinoic acid and arsenic trioxide and chemotherapy during second and third trimester with successful pregnancy outcomes.

Matched MeSH terms: Cytarabine/administration & dosage
Treating childhood acute myeloid leukaemia with the AML-BFM-83 protocol: experience in a developing country

Chan LL, Abdel-Latif ME, Ariffin WA, Ariffin H, Lin HP

Br J Haematol, 2004 Sep;126(6):799-805.
PMID: 15352983

Treatment for childhood acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) consists of remission induction chemotherapy followed by postremission chemotherapy with or without bone marrow transplantation. The AML Berlin-Frankfurt-Munster (BFM)-83 protocol with induction-consolidation-maintenance chemotherapy for 2 years has been reported to result in a 6-year event-free survival (EFS) and event-free interval (EFI) of 49% and 61% respectively. A total of 174 Malaysian children were treated with this protocol between 1985 and 1999. The 5-year EFS and EFI was 30.7% and 48.0% respectively. The overall mortality from sepsis was 24%, which needs urgent address. The 5-year EFS for patients treated before 1993 and after 1993 was 18.6% and 41.3%, respectively (P = 0.04), while the EFI was 32% and 60.6% respectively (P = 0.034). The improvement seen after 1993 was related to a reduction in induction deaths for that period and probably reflected increased capability and familiarity to cope with the demands of the AML-BFM-83 protocol and accompanying complications in the treatment of AML.

Matched MeSH terms: Cytarabine/administration & dosage
Outcome of treatment in adult acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in an Asian population: comparison with previous multicentre German study

Bosco I, Teh A

Leukemia, 1995 Jun;9(6):951-4.
PMID: 7596183

Reports on the outcome of treatment in ALL in Asian (non-Caucasian) adults have been few, and published results compare very unfavourably with results of treatment from 'Western' centres. Seventy-four newly diagnosed Malaysian patients with ALL between the ages of 15 and 69 were treated from 1986 to 1990. The clinical features and prognostic factors were similar to those reported in 'Western' series. The chemotherapy protocol utilized was adapted from the one used by Hoelzer et al in the multicentre German study. The complete remission rate was 73%. The probability of continuous complete remission at 5 years was 29% with a median duration of remission of 15 months. This compares with Hoelzer's initial results of 77% CR rate and 35% CCR at 5 years. Patients with an initial white cell count of less than 30 x 10(9)/l at presentation were found to have a significantly better disease-free survival than those with a count of more than 30 x 10(9)/l (35 vs 22%, P = 0.026, univariate analysis). There was no difference in leukaemia-free survival according to age, sex, ethnic group, or immunophenotype. These results show that the use of moderately intensive chemotherapy protocols in Asian (non-Caucasian) patients achieves similar results to those used in Caucasians. We also showed that the difficulties in 'curing' approximately 70% of adult patient with ALL are universal.

Matched MeSH terms: Cytarabine/administration & dosage
Fulltext Molecular responses during chemotherapy in acute myeloid leukemias in predicting poor-response to standard chemotherapy

Maha A, Cheong SK, Leong CF, Seow HF

Malays J Pathol, 2009 Dec;31(2):81-91.
PMID: 20514850 MyJurnal

Signal transduction pathways are constitutively expressed in leukaemic cells resulting in aberrant survival of the cells. It is postulated that in cells of chemo-sensitive patients, chemotherapy induces apoptotic signals leading to cell death while survival signals are maintained in cells of chemo-resistant patients. There is very little information currently, on the expression of these mediators in patients immediately after chemotherapy initiation. We examined the expression pattern of proinflammatory cytokines, signaling molecules of the PI3K and MAPK pathways molecules and death receptor, DR5 on paired samples at diagnosis and during chemotherapy in acute myeloid leukaemia patients treated with cytosine arabinoside and daunorubicin. The results were correlated with remission status one month after chemotherapy. We found that in chemo-sensitive patients, chemotherapy significantly increased the percentage of cases expressing TNF-alpha (p = 0.025, n = 9) and IL-6 (p = 0.002, n = 11) compared to chemo-resistant cases. We also observed an increased percentage of chemo-sensitive cases expressing DR5 and phosphorylated p38, and Jnk. Thus, expression of TNF-alpha, IL-6, DR5, phospho-p38 and phospho-Jnk may regulate cell death in chemo-sensitive cases. In contrast, a significantly higher percentage of chemo-resistant cases expressed phospho-Bad (p = 0.027, n = 9). IL-beta and IL-18 were also found to be higher in chemo-resistant cases at diagnosis and during chemotherapy. Thus, expression of various cellular molecules in leukaemic blasts during chemotherapy may be useful in predicting treatment outcome. These cellular molecules may also be potential targets for alternative therapy.

Matched MeSH terms: Cytarabine/administration & dosage