Abstract

Indications:1 patient with early relapse of Philadelphia-positive acute leukemia 3 months after umbilical cord blood transplantation. Coexisting disease: lytic bone lesions.

Patients:One 8 year old African-American boy.

TypeofStudy:This brief case report describes hypopigmentation in an African-American boy receiving Glivec treatment for Philadelphia-positive acute leukemia.

DosageDuration:Dosage not stated. Duration of treatment was for more than a year.

Results:The patient achieved cytogenetic remission after treatment with Glivec. After 3 months of treatment with this medication, hypopigmented lesions appeared on his face, extremities, and trunk. Glivec therapy was continued for the next year, and he remained in molecular and cytogenetic remission despite no detectable donor cells. During this period, his hypopigmented lesions gradually enlarged, leading to generalized lightening of his skin.

AdverseEffects:The patient developed hypopigmentation.

AuthorsConclusions:Imatinib mesylate is being used with increasing frequency to treat a variety of oncologic diseases (example, chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), Ph+ acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), hypereosinophilic leukemia, acute myelogenous leukemia), including diseases of childhood. Patients of African descent or other dark-skin heritages should be advised of the possibility of hypopigmentation.

FreeText:The patient underwent an umbilical cord blood transplant for Philadelphia-positive acute leukemia (Ph+ ALL). Three months after transplantation, he developed lytic bone lesions, and early leukemic relapse was documented on bone marrow evaluation with fluorescent in situ hybridization analysis for the BCR-ABL gene fusion product. He subsequently was treated with the Abl protein tyrosine kinase inhibitor Glivec.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)214
Number of pages1
JournalJournal of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Volume26
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2004

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Hypopigmentation from Imatinib Mesylate (Gleevec)'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this