Adult T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma: Rarely Encountered in the United States

BackgroundAdult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) is aggressive mature T-cell lymphoproliferative disorder with a poor outcome.MethodsWe present 10 patients with acute and lymphomatous subtypes of ATLL treated with distinct induction regimens, including CHOP (cyclophosphamide, hydroxydaunorubicin, vincristine [Oncovin], prednisone or prednisolone), interferon/zidovudine, and VCAP-AMP-VECP (vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, prednisone; doxorubicin, ranimustine, prednisone; vindesine, etoposide, carboplatin, prednisone).ResultsThe overall response rate was 50%, with 10% complete remission (CR). Two patients achieved CR with the second-line regimen. Three patients underwent consolidation with allogeneic stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in the first CR. The median overall survival was 51 months for the entire group and 84 months for the patients who had undergone ASCT versus 34 months for the non-ASCT patients.