Central Nervous System Involvement of Epstein Barr Virus Associated Lymphoproliferative Disorder in a Child with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Successful Treatment with Rituximab and Interferon-Alpha

Central nervous system (CNS) involvement of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated lymphoproliferative disease is a rare and serious complication in children with leukemia. Although rituximab therapy seems to be promising in these cases, persistent hypogammaglobulinemia may appear after treatment due t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Turkish Journal of Hematology
Main Authors: Berna Atabay, Meral Türker, Can Öztürk, Sümer Sütçüoğlu, Haldun Öniz, Esra Arun Özer
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Turkish Society of Hematology 2013-03-01
Subjects:
epstein-barr virus
lymphoproliferative disorder
rituximab
children
leukemia
Online Access:https://jag.journalagent.com/z4/download_fulltext.asp?pdir=tjh&un=TJH-43926
Description
Summary:Central nervous system (CNS) involvement of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-associated lymphoproliferative disease is a rare and serious complication in children with leukemia. Although rituximab therapy seems to be promising in these cases, persistent hypogammaglobulinemia may appear after treatment due to complete depletion of normal B lymphocytes in the peripheral blood. Here we report isolated CNS involvement of EBV-associated lymphoproliferative disorder in a 4-year-old boy with acute leukemia. The patient was treated with rituximab and interferon alpha; however, persistent hypogammaglobulinemia developed as a complication. Given the rarity of the complication in children receiving these agents, our experience with such a case may be helpful to others.
ISSN:1308-5263

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