Treatment of T-cell large granular lymphocyte leukemia with cyclosporine A: Experience in a Chinese single institution

T-cell large granular lymphocyte leukemia (T-LGLL) is a rare chronic lymphoproliferative disorder. Available reported data on the treatment regimens of this disease are variable and limited due to low number of patients. We analyzed the efficiency of cyclosporine A (CsA) in the treatment of 28 patients with T-LGLL. The overall response rate (ORR) was 82.1% with hematologic complete remission (HCR) rate of 57.1%. The median time to response (TTR) was 1.8 months and treatment duration with CsA-based regimens was 34.5 months. CsA shows low and manageable toxicity during treatment. Twenty-one patients survived with a median follow-up time of 42.0 months. Our results indicate that CsA is efficacious and safe in the treatment of T-LGLL.