Therapeutic effect of bortezomib for primary plasma cell leukemia followed by auto/allo stem cell transplantation

apeutic effect of bortezomib for primary plasma cell leukemia followed by auto/allo stem cell transplantation Case report (1303) Total Article Views Authors: Ozasa R, Hotta M, Yoshimura H, Nakanishi T, Tamaki T, Fujita S, Nakamichi N, Miyaji M, Ishii K, Ito T, Nomura S Published Date July 2012 Volume 2012:5 Pages 39 - 43 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/IMCRJ.S33293 Received: 25 April 2012 Accepted: 14 May 2012 Published: 06 July 2012 Ryotaro Ozasa, Masaaki Hotta, Hideaki Yoshimura, Takahisa Nakanishi, Takeshi Tamaki, Shinya Fujita, Naoto Nakamichi, Michihiko Miyaji, Kazuyoshi Ishii, Tomoki Ito, Shosaku Nomura First Department of Internal Medicine, Kansai Medical University, Osaka, Japan Abstract: Plasma cell leukemia (PCL) is a rare disease that represents approximately 4% of plasma cell malignant disorders. PCL consists of two variants: primary PCL presents in patients with no previous history of multiple myeloma, while secondary PCL consists of a leukemic transformation in a previously recognized multiple myeloma. Primary PCL is an extremely resistant, rapidly progressive, fatal disease, with a median overall survival of 6.8 months. There is no standard therapeutic strategy, because no treatment option has been prospectively evaluated. We describe a successful case of newly diagnosed primary PCL, treated with a regimen that included bortezomib, followed by auto stem cell transplantation and nonmyeloablative allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Our patient has maintained remission status for over 12 months since undergoing the allogeneic stem cell transplantation. This strategy is promising for PCL, which, though an extremely resistant disease, may become curable.