Adult T-cell Leukemia / Lymphoma: First case report from Qatar

ABSTRACT

In what appears to be the first case of Adult T-cell Leukemia/Lymphoma [ATLL] reported in Qatar and Middle Eastern Arab countries, a 39-year-old lady presented first with pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and hypercalcaemia and later showed the full picture of ATLL, splenomegaly leukocytosis, skin rash, and bone marrow infiltrations. She responded well to chemotherapy, with complete remission after four cycles of combination chemotherapy but the prognosis of patients with ATLL is poor. Although patients may respond initially to treatment with combination chemotherapy regimens devised for advanced, aggressive Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma [NHL], relapses are common with a median survival of eight months and a four-year survival of 12 percent