title: [Treatment of T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia with monoclonal anti- CD52 antibody (alemtuzumab].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  T-cell prolymphocytic leukaemia (T-PLL) is a rare post-thymic T-cell malignancy with an aggressive clinical course. It has generally been resistant to alkylating chemotherapy, but some effect has been observed with the purine analog 2-deoxycoformicin with documented partial or complete response rates in up to 45% of patients. Treatment with monoclonal antibodies against CD 52 has been shown to be highly effective in T-PLL with response rates of up to 76%. This may allow for further consolidating treatment with high-dose chemotherapy with autologous stem cell support or allogeneic stem cell transplantation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Five patients treated at Rikshospitalet University Hospital are evaluated and the literature on T-PLL is reviewed.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Four of our patients were treated with alemtuzumab. Three showed complete or partial response. One patient underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation with an HLA-identical sibling, but died on day 21 as a result of transplantation complications. The treatment is generally well tolerated; the principal management problem is immunosuppression, as shown in one patient who developed a varicella-zoster meningoencephalomyelitis as a consequence of not receiving antiviral prophylaxis. The main infusion-related adverse effects are fever and chills.
authors.affiliation: Seksjon for blodsykdommer, Medisinsk avdeling, Rikshospitalet, 0027 Oslo. yngvar.floisand@rikshospitalet.no
authors.forename: Yngvar
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Fløisand
authors.forename: Lorentz
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Brinch
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gedde-Dahl
authors.forename: Geir E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Tjønnfjord
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000074323:Alemtuzumab; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D000912:Antibodies, Neoplasm / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D015463:Leukemia, Prolymphocytic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics; D015458:Leukemia, T-Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D000912:Antibodies, Neoplasm; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D000074323:Alemtuzumab