Successful treatment of acquired factor VIII inhibitor with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide in chronic lymphoid leukemia

Acquired haemophilia in cancer: A systematic and critical literature review

AIM

There is a paucity of data on the clinical presentation and management of cancer patients with acquired haemophilia (AH), we here report a systematic literature review on acquired haemophilia in the context of cancer.

METHODS

Treatment outcomes of AH were defined as complete response (CR), partial response (PR) or no response (NR), based on inhibitor eradication, coagulation factor VIII levels and bleeding control. Reported deaths were either related to cancer or bleeding.

RESULTS

Overall, 105 cases were collected and analyzed according to classification of cancer and efficacy of treatments for inhibitor and malignancy. The mean age was 68 years for both males (range 37-86 years) and females (range 43-89 years), 39 patients were female subjects and 66 were males. A solid cancer was diagnosed in 60 subjects, while 45 patients suffered a haematological malignancy. Solid cancers affected mainly males; however, the incidence of solid tumours vs haematological malignancies was not statistically significant (P = .09). Not all patients were treated for their underlying cancer, bleeding and/or inhibitor, in two cases outcome is unavailable. CR was reported in 62.1% (64/103) cases, PR in 9.7% (10/103) cases, NR with or without death was reported in 28.1% (29/103) cases.

CONCLUSION

CR was best achieved when successful and complete elimination of autoantibodies occurred contemporaneously with the successful treatment of the underlying malignancy. In some cases, recurrent autoantibodies were harbingers of relapsed cancer. Type of cancer, inhibitor titer, treatments administered for bleeding control and inhibitor eradication did not significantly affect clinical outcome of analyzed cases.

Spontaneous retroperitoneal hemorrhage in a patient with prolymphocytic transformation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Prolymphocytic transformation of chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a rare but recognized entity. We present the case of a 76-year-old gentleman with a previous diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia who presented with fatigue, fever, and a white blood cell count of 500 000 with prolymphocytes on peripheral blood examination. Chlorambucil and dexamethasone were initiated. He developed progressive anemia during his admission with no clear cause on initial CT examination. Bilateral hip pain began several days later and he was unfortunately diagnosed with a large spontaneous retroperitoneal hemorrhage postmortem. This condition is rare and generally occurs in those receiving therapeutic anticoagulation or dialysis, with known bleeding disorders or vascular malformation, none of which were present in our patient. Pathology revealed marked leukemoid engorgement of the vessels of many organs with prolymphocytes. We discuss the potential etiologies and relationships between these critical diagnoses.

Acquired hemophilia: a single-center survey with emphasis on immunotherapy and treatment-related side-effects

OBJECTIVES

Acquired hemophilia is a rare disease caused by the development of autoantibodies against factor VIII. Since 1981 we have observed 17 patients with this disorder in our institution. The objective of this survey was to assess the epidemiological features, clinical course, and mortality rate of these patients, with special emphasis on therapy-related side-effects. Also, we present our results with an immunosuppressive approach based on the severity of bleeding episodes.

METHODS

Clinical records of all patients with acquired hemophilia due to factor VIII inhibitor admitted or referred to our hospital between 1981 and 2001 were reviewed retrospectively. We collected each patient's sex, age, medical history, presenting symptoms, activated partial thromboplastin time, factor VIII activity, and inhibitor titre. Patient's clinical courses, including their bleeding episodes, response to therapy, and therapy-related side-effects, were also recorded.

RESULTS

Complete and partial responses were achieved in 14 and one patient, respectively (overall response rate 88%) after a median time to complete response of 3.5 months (range 30 d - 25 months). The inhibitor-related and overall mortality rates were 12% and 29%, respectively. Side-effects were frequent: two patients had blood-borne infections, three patients had thrombotic complications, and nine patients had immunosuppressive therapy-related side-effects. In five patients, discontinuation of cyclophosphamide or prednisone was required.

CONCLUSIONS

Although our response rates were remarkable, this survey showed that treatment-related morbidity could also be very important. Therefore, it is pertinent to bear in mind these potential side-effects in order to decide the most appropriate therapy for each particular patient.

Second primary tumors and immune phenomena after fludarabine or 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine treatment

The purine nucleoside analogs fludarabine and 2-chloro-2'-deoxyadenosine display substantial activity in the treatment of various chronic lymphoproliferative disorders. Their major toxicities are primarily immunosuppression and myelosuppression. The profound influence of these drugs on the immune system has raised questions as to the emergence of secondary neoplasms or auto-immune disorders after their use. Based on a literature review and on personal observations, this article reviews the potential clinical importance of these concerns.

Acquired haemophilia complicating the remission of a patient with high grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treated by fludarabine

We report the development of a high titre antibody to factor VIII in a patient with previous high grade B cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treated with fludarabine. Unlike previous reports of factor VIII inhibitors and lymphoproliferative disease this patient's lymphoma was in remission. We speculate that the occurrence of the inhibitor is another manifestation of the increasingly recognized autoimmune side-effects of fludarabine.