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Spontaneous remission of acute leukemia after the termination of pregnancy
Author(s) -
Antunez de Mayolo Jorge,
Ahn Yeon Soong,
Donald Temple J.,
Harrington William J.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
cancer
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.052
H-Index - 304
eISSN - 1097-0142
pISSN - 0008-543X
DOI - 10.1002/1097-0142(19890415)63:8<1621::aid-cncr2820630830>3.0.co;2-0
Subject(s) - medicine , hormone , leukemia , pregnancy , spontaneous remission , myelocytic leukemia , hormonal therapy , complete remission , acute leukemia , obstetrics , breast cancer , cancer , chemotherapy , pathology , genetics , alternative medicine , biology
A 28‐year‐old woman in the third trimester of her pregnancy was found to have acute myelocytic leukemia. The baby was delivered by Cesarean section and her leukemia underwent spontaneous remission. However, 3 months later, she presented with massive painful leukemic infiltration of the breasts as initial manifestation of relapse, followed by systemic symptoms of leukemia. In vitro culture of the leukemic cells demonstrated characteristics of macrophage cell line. This case illustrates a unique sequence of events: spontaneous remission after the termination of pregnancy, which has profound hormonal alterations, and relapse in a very hormone‐sensitive organ, the breast, a few months later when the hormonal milieu was resumed. This suggests hormonal dependence of her leukemic cells and potential for hormonal manipulation in a certain subset of human leukemia.