Isolated Central Nervous System Relapse of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common form of childhood cancer and may exhibit central nervous system (CNS) involvement. Advances in chemotherapy and effective CNS prophylaxis have significantly decreased the incidence of CNS relapse of ALL to 5-10%. Here, we report the case of a patient with isolated CNS relapse of standard risk group pre-B-cell type ALL in an 11-year-old girl, relapsed 3 years after successful completion of chemotherapy. An 11-year-old girl visited our hospital complaining of headache, dizziness, vomiting, and visual field defects. Neurological examination revealed left-side homonymous hemianopsia. Brain magnetic resonance imaging showed a large irregular dural-based sulcal hematoma in the right parietal and occipital lobes. Surgery to remove the hematoma revealed the existence of hematopoietic malignancy after pathologic evaluation. Bone marrow biopsy was subsequently performed but showed no evidence of malignancy.