Autoimmune pancytopenia following combination chemotherapy for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia
- 1Centre for Oncology and Molecular Medicine, Division of Medical Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland, UK
- 2Department of Haematology, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee, Scotland, UK
- 3Department of Cytogenetics, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee, Scotland, UK
- Dr Sudhir Tauro, Division of Pathology and Neuroscience, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee DD1 9SY, Scotland, UK; s.tauro{at}dundee.ac.uk
- Accepted 22 October 2008
Abstract
Autoimmune haemolysis or thrombocytopenia can complicate purine nucleoside monotherapy for chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL), but Evans syndrome is rare. This is a report of the occurrence of pancytopenia secondary to a unique combination of red cell aplasia with autoimmune thrombocytopenia and neutropenia in a patient with CLL following treatment with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide. This case is unusual for the simultaneous targeting of three haemopoietic lineages by immune dysfunction following fludarabine and cyclophosphamide, which is a treatment regimen believed to reduce autoimmune haematological toxicity in CLL.
Footnotes
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Competing interests: None.
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Patient consent: Obtained.
