Imatinib-based therapy in adult Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia: A case report and literature review

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has a rapid onset and rarely occurs with exclusive prodrome of general osteoporosis and vertebral compression fractures. However, Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph(+)) ALL has a poor prognosis, even when patients are treated with intensive chemotherapy, and the first-line effective treatment requires further elucidation. The present study focused on a 56-year-old Chinese male patient who initially presented with spontaneous bone fractures and was ultimately diagnosed as Ph(+) ALL after 6 months, which required to preliminarily exclude a working diagnosis of myeloma. Apart from intensive chemotherapy, the patient successfully completed an imatinib-based regimen and achieved complete remission (CR) 2 weeks later. Subsequently, the patient was subjected to consolidation treatment using the same imatinib regimen combined with interferon-α 2b for 9 courses. In November 2013, the patient had achieved persistent hematological and molecular genetic normality for ~16 months after the initial CR. In conclusion, Ph(+) ALL must be considered in the differential diagnosis of adults experiencing unexplained bone disease.