Acute promyelocytic leukemia following autologous bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cell transplantation for traumatic brain injury: A case report

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an extremely rare complication that can be observed following mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) transplantation for traumatic brain injury (TBI). Few cases have been reported thus far. The present study reports a case of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) following MSC transplantation in a 36-year-old female. The patient presented with a fever and dermatorrhagia with an associative abnormal coagulation test almost 2 months after the MSC transplantation for TBI. The routine blood test, bone marrow (BM) test, and examination of the promyelocytic leukemia/retinoic acid receptor-α and mixed lineage leukemia chimeric genes confirmed the diagnosis of APL and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). The patient was treated with all- trans retinoic acid to induce remission and cryoprecipitate transfusion for the coagulation abnormality. However, the patient succumbed to the DIC shortly after treatment. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the early occurrence of APL in a patient who received autologous BM-derived MSC therapy for TBI.