Transverse myelopathy occurring with intrathecal administration of methotrexate and cytarabine chemotherapy: A case report

Paraplegia following spinal injury is a rare complication subsequent to the administration of intrathecal chemotherapy; however, it is also one of the rare clinical features of central nervous system leukemia (CNSL). Distinguishing between the two is extremely important. The present study reports th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Oncology letters 2016-06, Vol.11 (6), p.4066-4068
Main Authors: PAN, YING, WANG, CHUNHUAI, WANG, HUIPING, TAO, QIANSHAN, XIONG, SHUDAO, ZHAI, ZHIMIN
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acute lymphocytic leukemia
B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia
Bladder
Blood
Care and treatment
Case reports
Chemotherapy
Chromosomes
Complications and side effects
Cytarabine
Cytogenetics
Development and progression
Drug therapy
Immunology
Leukemia
Methotrexate
Molecular biology
Morphology
Nervous system
Oncology
Paralysis
Paraplegia
Radiation therapy
Spinal cord injuries
transverse myelopathy
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Summary:Paraplegia following spinal injury is a rare complication subsequent to the administration of intrathecal chemotherapy; however, it is also one of the rare clinical features of central nervous system leukemia (CNSL). Distinguishing between the two is extremely important. The present study reports the case of a 46-year-old man who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and subsequently achieved remission in the blood and bone marrow following the initial course of chemotherapy. However, the patient developed a sudden onset of paraplegia and urinary retention due to spinal cord infiltration of leukemia cells following the administration of intrathecal methotrexate and cytarabine. The paraplegia was initially reversible. However, a few weeks later, the patient developed irreversible paraplegia due to a complication of the intrathecal administration of chemotherapy (methotrexate and cytarabine arabinoside). The patient gave up further treatment in May 2013 and succumbed to the disease in June 2013.
ISSN:1792-1074
1792-1082
DOI:10.3892/ol.2016.4519