Lymphoma in Danon disease with chronic rhabdomyolysis treated with EPOCH-R: A case report

Rare disorders often represent a challenge for clinicians and require close collaboration of an interdisciplinary team. We present the complex case of a 22-year-old male with Danon disease and late-onset of posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorder after heart transplantation. The critical aspects of his condition were: pre-existing rhabdomyolysis; infiltration of muscle and gut with lymphoma; advanced clinical stage with bulky disease; nonresponsiveness to the reduction of immunosuppression and rituximab monotherapy; expected cardiotoxicity of anthracyclines. Therefore, the patient was treated with the EPOCH-R protocol, which includes continuous administration of doxorubicin over 4 days, instead of R-CHOP, in which the anthracycline is given in a short single infusion. Complete remission was achieved after the third cycle; rhabdomyolysis did not increase and heart function was not affected. The patient received a total of 6 cycles and is still in metabolic complete remission. We conclude that patients with Danon disease can be treated with anthracycline-containing chemotherapy and that continuous infusion of EPOCH-R does not exacerbate pre-existing rhabdomyolysis.