|
Therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia (t-AML) is a specific subtype of AML that accounts for 5% of secondary malignancies, among which therapy-related acute promyelocytic leukemia (t-APL) has been reported to be particularly rare, with a reported incidence rate of about 4.8% of all cases of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) according to a large Italian study [1]. However, an increase in the proportion of t-APL has been reported over time, with an incidence rate of up to 22% by the 2000s, owing to the increased use of chemocytotoxic agents or radiation therapy (RT) [2]. Cases of t-APL arising from plasma cell myeloma (PCM) are known to be rare, although they have been reported in a few instances associated with melphalan treatment. However, the effect of melphalan treatment alone on t-APL is obscure owing to the frequent use of combination therapy including topoisomerase II agents, other types of anti-cancer drugs, and/or RT [2345]. Herein, we report a very rare case of t-APL arising from PCM treated with melphalan only as a cytotoxic agent with a review of the literature.
|