Sustained remission with azacitidine monotherapy and an aberrant precursor B-lymphoblast population in juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia

Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2019 Oct;66(10):e27905. doi: 10.1002/pbc.27905. Epub 2019 Jun 28.

Abstract

Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) has a poor prognosis in general, with hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) remaining the standard of care for cure. The hypomethylating agent, azacitidine, has been used as a bridging therapy to transplant. However, no patients have been treated with azacitidine without an HSCT post azacitidine. We report on an infant with JMML with somatic KRAS G12A mutation and monosomy 7 who achieved sustained remission following azacitidine monotherapy. He also developed an aberrant B-lymphoblast population which declined with similar kinetics as his JMML-associated abnormalities, suggesting that a B-lymphoblast population in JMML does not always progress to acute leukemia.

Keywords: B-lymphoblasts; JMML; azacitidine.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic / therapeutic use*
  • Azacitidine / therapeutic use*
  • Chromosome Deletion
  • Chromosomes, Human, Pair 7
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Leukemia, Myelomonocytic, Juvenile / drug therapy*
  • Leukemia, Myelomonocytic, Juvenile / pathology
  • Male
  • Precursor Cells, B-Lymphoid / pathology*
  • Remission Induction

Substances

  • Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic
  • Azacitidine

Supplementary concepts

  • Chromosome 7, monosomy