Mediterranean visceral leishmaniasis associated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)

Abstract

We report a case of Mediterranean visceral leishmaniasis (MVL) associated with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) from the South of Iran. The patient, a 12-year-old girl, was known to be a case of ALL and had bone pain and prolonged fever on referral. A trephine biopsy revealed a hypocellular marrow with many amastigotes. Moreover, by specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on peripheral blood, a 145 bp band corresponding to kDNA from the genus Leishmania was detected and the species was identified as Leishmania infantum using nested PCR. The patient was treated successfully with two courses of amphotericin B plus IFN-gamma. To our knowledge this is first report of MVL/ALL from Iran and possibly the world.

Infectious complications in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia treated in low-middle-income countries

“…Ascaris lumbricoides can cause obstruction and abdominal masses that can be confused with tumors. The fever, leukopenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, hepatosplenomegaly and lymphadenopathy of visceral leishmaniasis [79] can mask a malignancy. Treatment for presumed parasitemia may thereby delay malignancy diagnosis.…”

New challenges in the epidemiology and treatment of visceral leishmaniasis in periurban areas

“…Domingues et al [2009] described a 15-year-old Brazilian boy with Hodgkin´s Disease in his second remission when biopsy of an enlarged lymph node showed both Leishmania amastigotes and pathologic findings consistent with Hodgkin’s disease. Fakhar et al [2008] reported on a 12 year-old girl in Iran with acute lymphocytic leukemia and biopsy-confirmed VL. VL has also been described during treatment for solid tumors, including head and neck and colon cancers [Kopterides et al, 2007].…”

Filariasis in an infant with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a rare enigma

“…It is rare in infants. Though, there are case reports of Leishmaniasis, malaria and other vector borne diseases seen in association with leukemias, filariasis co-existing with ALL has not been documented (Fakhar et al 2008). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of ALL with filariasis in an infant.…”