Particularities of Neurological Manifestations in Adult T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma: Need for a Multidisciplinary Approach—A Narrative Review

• Published in: Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) Vol. 58; no. 11; p. 1553
• Main Authors: Iordan, Iuliana, Onisâi, Minodora, Vlădăreanu, Ana-Maria, Mambet, Cristina, Marinescu, Elena Cristina, Nistor, Raluca, Bumbea, Horia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 28.10.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Asymptomatic; ATL; Biopsy; Care and treatment; Cerebrospinal fluid; Chemotherapy; CNS involvement; Complications and side effects; Diagnosis; Graft versus host disease; Guillain-Barre syndrome; HAM/TSP; infection; Leukemia; Lymphocytes; Lymphoma; Magnetic resonance imaging; Medical prognosis; Neurologic manifestations of general diseases; neurological manifestations; neurolymphomatosis; Review; Stem cells; Tomography; Transplantation; Transplants & implants; Ultrasonic imaging; Japan
• ISSN: 1648-9144; 1010-660X; 1648-9144
• DOI: 10.3390/medicina58111553

ATL is a rare but a highly aggressive T-cell neoplasm associated with human T-cell leukemia virus-1 (HTLV-1) infection. Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) is a oncogenic retrovirus responsible for the development of adult T-cell leukemia (ATL), but also for other non-malignant diseases, such as HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). HTLV-1 has a higher prevalence in Japan, the Caribbean, South America, intertropical Africa, Romania, and northern Iran. ATL patients can have an extensive spectrum of neurological manifestations. Numerous factors can be implicated, such as central nervous system infiltrates, neurolymphomatosis, complications to medication or allogeneic stem cell transplantation, HAM/TSP, infections, metabolic disturbances. The neurological complications are not always easy to recognize and treat. Thus, this review underlines the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach in ATL patients with neurological symptomatology.