A Rare Case of Coexisting Breast Cancer and Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia

The occurrence of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) within six months from a diagnosis of breast cancer (BC) is rarely reported in the literature, and it is associated with a poor prognosis. We report herein the case of a 40-year-old woman referred to our centre affected by BC and simultaneous AML. The p...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: L. Ballotta, S. M. Trisolini, A. P. Iori, U. La Rocca, A. Micozzi, G. Gentile, T. De Giacomo, A. Guarini, R. Foà, S. Capria
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2020-01-01
Series:Case Reports in Hematology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2020/8893185
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Summary:The occurrence of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) within six months from a diagnosis of breast cancer (BC) is rarely reported in the literature, and it is associated with a poor prognosis. We report herein the case of a 40-year-old woman referred to our centre affected by BC and simultaneous AML. The patient proved refractory to first line therapy and achieved complete remission (CR) with a clofarabine-based regimen followed by allogeneic stem cell transplantation (ASCT). Both during salvage chemotherapy and after ASCT, the patient presented severe infectious complications ( acute cholecistytis and Nocardia pneumonia, respectively) treated with surgery, and currently she is alive in CR for both diseases after 29 months of follow-up. The case highlights the importance of a diagnostic assessment of any unexplained cytopenia in association with solid neoplasia under treatment, underlining the feasibility and priority of a timely treatment of the haematological neoplasm in order to achieve long-term survival.
ISSN:2090-6560
2090-6579