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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · Indian J Med Paediatr Oncol 2017; 38(03): 371-373
DOI: 10.4103/ijmpo.ijmpo_36_16
Case Report

Pancreatitis in Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia: Drug‑induced or Differentiation Syndrome?

Dibyendu De
Department of Hematology and Hemato-Oncology, The Mission Hospital, Durgapur, West Bengal, India
,
Uttam Kumar Nath
Department of Hematology, Institute of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine, Medical College, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
,
Prantar Chakrabarti
Department of Hematology, NRS Medical College, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
› Author Affiliations Financial support and sponsorship Nil.
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Abstract

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) constitutes about 15% of all acute myeloid leukemia patients and can now be treated even without any chemotherapy, with all-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO). Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a rare adverse event in APL, which is primarily reported to be secondary to hypertriglyceridemia. Here, we have reported AP developed in a patient of APL, during induction with ATRA and ATO, but it was not associated with hypertriglyceridemia. Rather, it was associated with respiratory distress and weight gain, coincidental leukocytosis, bilateral pleural effusion, and edematous pancreatitis without any necrosis. Hence, AP in this case is diagnosed to be a manifestation of differentiation syndrome, and it responded to steroid.

Keywords

Acute promyelocytic leukemia - all-trans-retinoic acid - arsenic - differentiation syndrome - pancreatitis


Publication History

Article published online:
04 July 2021

© 2017. Indian Society of Medical and Paediatric Oncology. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.)

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