Case report: Successful allogeneic stem cell transplantation in a child with novel GATA2 defect associated B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Abstract

GATA-binding protein 2 (GATA2) is a transcription factor responsible for the regulation of blood cell proliferation, differentiation, and maintenance in hematopoietic stem cells. Here, we describe successful bone marrow transplantation in a carrier of a novel GATA2 pathogenic variant who was diagnosed with immunodeficiency a few years after completion of B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL) treatment. At the age of 4 years, the patient was diagnosed with and treated for BCP-ALL. Antileukemic therapy was complicated by pulmonary cryptococcosis. Two years after completion of the maintenance therapy, the child was consulted by an immunologist because of recurrent respiratory tract infections and an episode of sepsis. Flow cytometry revealed deep monocytopenia, lymphopenia, absence of B lymphocytes, considerably reduced NK cells, poor thymic T lymphocyte production, minor defects in T cell maturation, and absence of TCRγδ+ T cells. The presence of the likely pathogenic, heterozygous missense variant within exon 5 of GATA2 (NM_032638.5: c.1047T>G, Cys349Trp) was identified in the proband and confirmed in the father of the patient, who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) from a matched unrelated donor due to myelodysplastic syndrome with excess blasts at the age of 22 years. An allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with a reduced toxicity conditioning protocol was performed using a matched sibling donor. Pre-transplant conditioning included fludarabine (5 × 30 mg/m2), treosulfan (3 × 14 g/m2), and thiotepa (10 mg/kg). Complete donor chimerism was achieved on post-transplant day 17. During the 12 months of the posttransplant observation period, she remained free from symptoms of acute or chronic graft-versus-host disease, and immunosuppressive treatment was therefore stopped. This is the second reported case of BCP-ALL in a patient with GATA2 deficiency, and the first successfully treated with a reduced-toxicity conditioning HSCT protocol. The co-occurrence of lymphoid malignancies and primary immunodeficiencies points to the role of genetic counseling and family screening for possible cancer predisposition syndromes prior to the selection of related HSCT donors.

Keywords: GATA2; acute lymphoblastic leukemia; hematopoietic stem cell transplantation; immunodeficiency; treosulfan.