A Case of Hodgkin Lymphoma Developed in an Ataxia-telangiectasia Patient / 임상소아혈액종양

ABSTRACT

Ataxia-telangiectasia (AT) is characterized by cerebellar ataxia, progressive immunodeficiency, radiation sensitivity, telangiectasia, and predisposition to malignancy. AT patients have a 100-fold increased risk for the development of lymphoid malignancies. It is important to consider AT in a child with pre-existing ataxia, or lymphoid malignancy that was diagnosed at a younger age than expected. This consideration avoids the confusion between ataxia development and toxicity from chemotherapy. Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) is usually treated with chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy. Unfortunately, when treated with conventional doses of radiotherapy, AT patients invariably experience devastating necrosis of their normal tissues. Therefore, a new treatment protocol for patients with HL in AT must be established. In this paper, we report the case of an 8-year-old female patient with HL in AT who was treated with chemotherapy. This patient was also treated with brentuximab (which targets CD30) for salvage therapy after the disease progressed.