Complex Chromosome-Positive Acute Myelogenous Leukemia Identified 16 Months following the Completion of Capecitabine Chemotherapy for Early-Stage Colon Cancer

Capecitabine is an oral chemotherapy that is used to treat several cancer types, including breast, gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, and ovarian. The use of antimetabolites in cancer therapy has generally not been associated with leukemogenesis. In this report, we demonstrate a case of capecitabine-related acute myeloid leukemia that was diagnosed 16 months after the completion of treatment for early-stage colon cancer, by a complex chromosome analysis 48,XY,6,del(7)(q22),+8,+13,t(13;17)(q12;p13),t(13,21)(q12;122),+mar [Gazi Med J. 2018 Jan;29(1):57–58]. This is the first report to our knowledge of the development of t-AML in a patient with early-stage colon cancer that was caused by capecitabine. We should use capecitabine with caution. Further studies are essential to investigate capecitabine-triggered leukemogenesis.