Background: Although bone marrow metastases can be found commonly in some malignant tumors, diagnosing a nonhematologic malignancy from marrow is not a usual event.

No abstract

Although infrequently seen, the management of cancer during pregnancy can be difficult for patients, their families and physicians. The concomitant occurrence of pregnancy and chronic myelogenous leukemia is uncommon. We describe the successful management of a 26-year-old woman in the first trimester of her pregnancy with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in chronic phase by using only leukapheresis. She was treated with leukapheresis until her delivery at 36 weeks of gestation. The procedure was without significant adverse effects on the patient or fetus. We applied a total of 15 leukapheresis treatments throughout the pregnancy. The patient gave birth vaginally to a healthy 2800 g boy at 36 weeks of gestation. We conclude that leukapheresis may provide an alternative treatment to chemotherapy, alpha-interferon or imatinib in pregnant patients with CML, particularly with concern over their potential teratogenic and other adverse effects.

In light of reported cases and our experience, treatment of CML during the second and third trimesters of gestation and breast feeding seems to be safe, but the data are still limited and the effects of chronic exposure of infants to imatinib are not known. We think that each case should be examined and considered independently, and decisions should be individualized.

Pregnancy complicated with ITP generally has a good outcome. Although ITP in pregnancy carries a low risk, careful observation is required for the newborn of gravidas with ITP even when the infant has no bleeding complications at delivery, and infants may require treatment for thrombocytopenia.