title: Acute myeloid leukemia in the setting of low dose weekly methotrexate therapy for rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: Methotrexate is in widespread use as second-line therapy for rheumatoid arthritis. Treatment with methotrexate in this and other settings has not been associated with the development of therapy-related leukemias. Four patients with rheumatoid arthritis are reported who developed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) while receiving low dose weekly methotrexate therapy in the absence of previous or concomitant treatment with known leukemogenic agents. AML in these four patients was of different morphologic subtypes and was associated with heterogeneous cytogenetic abnormalities, cell surface marker expression and multidrug resistance protein expression. None of the recognized features of therapy-related leukemia were present in these four nor in five previously-reported patients. It is likely that the occurrence of AML in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in the setting of methotrexate therapy represents the coincidence of these two diseases, and does not reflect a causal relationship.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York, USA.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kolte
authors.forename: A N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Baer
authors.forename: S N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Sait
authors.forename: K L
authors.initials: KL
authors.lastname: O'Loughlin
authors.forename: C C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barcos
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wetzler
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Baer
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000473:pathology; D018432:Drug Resistance, Multiple; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects*; D017404:In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000175:diagnosis; D008297:Male; D008727:Methotrexate / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies
chemical_list: D007166:Immunosuppressive Agents; D008727:Methotrexate