Therapy-related myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia following fludarabine combination chemotherapy

Fludarabine combination chemotherapy achieves high response rates in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and indolent lymphoma. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence and characteristics of treatment-related myelodysplasia and acute myeloid leukemia (t-MDS/AML) after treatment with fludarabine in combination for lymphoproliferative disorders and identify risk factors for its development. In all, 176 patients treated with fludarabine combination were followed for a median of 41 months (range 6–125 months). In all, 19 cases of t-MDS/AML have been identified for an overall rate of 10.8%. Median overall survival post-t-MDS/AML diagnosis was 11 months. Patients developing t-MDS/AML included 11/54 with follicular lymphoma (FL) (crude rate 20.4%), 5/82 with CLL (6.1%) and 3/24 with Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia or marginal zone lymphoma (12.5%). Most patients had other cytotoxic treatments (median 4, range 0–7) but three with FL had fludarabine combination as their only line of treatment. Of the eleven patients (6.3%) who received mitoxantrone with their first fludarabine combination, four (36.4%) developed t-MDS/AML ( P =0.007). There was a trend toward prior cytotoxic therapy increasing the risk for t-MDS/AML ( P =0.067). Fludarabine combination chemotherapy is associated with a moderate risk of t-MDS/AML particularly when combined with mitoxantrone. This complication should be considered when evaluating the potential benefit of this treatment in lymphoproliferative disorders.