TKI-induced pure red cell aplasia: first case report of pure red cell aplasia with both imatinib and nilotinib

Tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (TKIs) represent the only hopes for long-term survival for patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) and gastrointestinal stromal tumours. Thus, uninterrupted use of TKIs is of importance in such patients. Pure red cell aplasia (PRCA) is a rare disorder, not previously known to be associated with TKIs. We present, to the best of our knowledge, the first case of a patient with CML who developed PRCA secondary to both imatinib and nilotinib. Although PRCA was controlled on withdrawal of TKI, TKI continuation in the patient with CML is important. So we treated him with prednisone, but his haemoglobin started to drop on resumption of imatinib. He was changed to nilotinib but again developed PRCA, which did not improve with steroids. We treated him with cyclosporine and were able to reintroduce nilotinib at a reduced dose without further complications. This case report makes physicians aware of this rare complication of TKIs and also provides encouragement that PRCA could be controlled and TKI continued.