Isolated granulocytic sarcoma of the small intestine successfully treated with chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation

Abstract

Isolated primary granulocytic sarcoma is a rare disease that presents as an extramedullary tumor of myeloid lineage cells. Most patients subsequently develop acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) within a short period, and their prognosis is poor. Herein, we report the case of a 33-year-old woman with a primary isolated granulocytic sarcoma which originated in the small intestine. After she recovered from surgery, she received intensive chemotherapy equivalent to that for AML, followed by allogeneic bone marrow transplantation from an HLA-matched, unrelated donor. Four years after the transplantation, she remains in complete remission without graft-versus-host disease or any other symptoms. This case illustrates the effectiveness of our therapeutic strategy for isolated granulocytic sarcoma, not only with surgical resection of the tumor and intensive chemotherapy equivalent to that for AML, but also with allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, performed while no sign of AML is observed.