A case of therapy-related acute monocytic leukemia following low-dose of etoposide treatment for hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis

We report a case of therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia after low-dosed topoisomerase II inhibitor (etoposide) treatment for hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH). A 62-yr-old female patient had previously been treated with a HLH-94 protocol containing a low-dose of etoposide (total dose of 300 mg/m2). Thirty-one months later, the patient was admitted to the hematology department with general weakness and upper respiratory infection symptoms. Peripheral blood smear and bone marrow study revealed acute monocytic leukemia. There was no evidence of myelodysplastic syndrome, and a cytogenetic study showed no chromosomal abnormalities.