Acute promyelocytic leukaemia with t(11;17)(q23;q12‐21) and a good initial response to prolonged ATRA and combination chemotherapy

• Published in: British journal of haematology Vol. 100; no. 2; pp. 328 - 330
• Main Authors: Culligan, Dominic J., Stevenson, David, Chee, Yen‐Lin, Grimwade, David
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, U.K. and Cambridge, USA Blackwell Publishers 01.02.1998; Blackwell
• Subjects: Antineoplastic agents; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; APL; ATRA; Biological and medical sciences; Chemotherapy; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 11 - genetics; Chromosomes, Human, Pair 17 - genetics; complete remission; Humans; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute - drug therapy; Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute - genetics; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; PLZF; t(11;17) translocation; Translocation, Genetic; Tretinoin - administration & dosage; Chromosomal aberration; Antineoplastic agent; Male; Administration schedule; Retinoids; Isomerases; Cytarabine; Daunorubicin; Genetics; Adult; Remission; Antimitotic; Pyrimidine nucleoside; Chromosome translocation; Tretinoin; Human; Promyelocytic leukemia; DNA topoisomerase (ATP-hydrolysing); Drug combination; Enzyme; Acute; Treatment efficiency; Etoposide; Enzyme inhibitor; Malignant hemopathy; Induction treatment; Case study; Podophyllotoxine derivatives; Antibiotic; Chemotherapy; Treatment; Abnormal chromosome E17; Cytogenetics; Abnormal chromosome; Anthracyclins; Abnormal chromosome C11
• ISSN: 0007-1048; 1365-2141
• DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2141.1998.00575.x

Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) of FAB subtype M3 is associated with t(15;17)(q22;q21) and a relatively good prognosis when treated with all‐trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and combination chemotherapy. Rarely, alternative balanced translocations have been described in this subtype of AML. The translocation t(11;17)(q23;q21) leading to a PLZF/RARα rearrangement has been described in a very small number of cases and has been associated with a poor response to ATRA and an adverse prognosis. We describe a case of AML FAB type M3 with this translocation who entered morphological and cytogenetic complete remission after concurrent prolonged ATRA and one course of induction chemotherapy and remains in morphological and molecular remission at 10 months after presentation. This diagnosis therefore may not always be associated with a poor initial response to treatment.