Successful pregnancy and delivery in a patient with chronic myeloid leukemia: a case report and review of the literature

INTRODUCTION: Complications associated with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) during pregnancy are rare, and management is challenging because very limited data are available on this patient group. CASE DESCRIPTION: We herein report a successful pregnancy and delivery in a patient diagnosed with CML. The patient was treated with imatinib (400 mg/day) as a first-line therapy. However, she became pregnant while she was in complete hematological remission and had a complete cytogenetic response. Because she elected to continue the pregnancy to term, imatinib treatment was stopped after 5 months of gestation and the patient was then treated with interferon-alpha for the remainder of her pregnancy. However, the CML did not relapse. She successfully gave birth to a male infant at 39 weeks by cesarean section with no adverse sequelae or malformations. DISCUSSION AND EVALUATION: The treatment of pregnant women with CML is difficult because of few available therapeutic options and limited data regarding the potential harm to the fetus. Conception should be planned and TKI therapy discontinued in female patients during pregnancy, and individual risks need to be considered when an unplanned pregnancy occurs. CONCLUSIONS: Our experience will be useful for counseling patients inadvertently exposed to tyrosine kinase inhibitors such as imatinib during pregnancy.