Central nervous system leukemia in a patient with concurrent nasopharyngeal carcinoma and acute myeloid leukaemia: A case report

RATIONALE: Concurrent case of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has not been reported. Here, we report a case of NPC, who was concurrently suffered from AML one mother after the NPC diagnosis. PATIENT CONCERNS: The patient was a 45-year-old male who presented with a mass on his right side neck. DIAGNOSES: The patient was diagnosed with Epstein–Barr virus negative type-2 non-keratinizing carcinoma with clivus involvement and unilateral metastasis to the cervical lymph node. INTERVENTIONS: He was treated with one cycle of cisplatin and 69.76 Gy of concurrent external-beam radiation. OUTCOMES: Three months after completion of chemo-radiotherapy, the patient was diagnosed as acute myeloid leukemia, which achieved complete remission after one course induction chemotherapy. Two months later, however, the patient was diagnosed as central nervous system leukemia. He ultimately died of relapsed leukemia. The overall survival of the patient was 10 months. LESSONS: The co-occurrence of NPC and AML is rare and prognosis is poor. Radiotherapy in NPC can disrupt the blood-brain barrier, which may contribute to the pathogenesis of central nervous system leukemia. Early alert and prevention of central nervous system leukemia following radiotherapy in NPC patient is recommended.