Secondary leukemia following treatment of Hodgkin's disease: ultrastructural and cytogenetic data in two cases with a review of the literature.

Two cases of secondary acute nonlymphocytic leukemia developing after combined chemo-radiotherapy for Hodgkin's disease (HD) are reported. The first case was a 28-year-old woman with PSIIIsA HD, treated with total lymphoid irradiation followed by combination chemotherapy that was almost entirely ABVD (Adriamycin, bleomycin, vinblastine, dacarbazine), who developed acute monoblastic leukemia three years after the diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease. We believe this to be the first reported case of secondary leukemia associated with the combination of radiotherapy and ABVD chemotherapy. The second case was a 37-year-old man with Stage IVB Hodgkin's disease, treated with radiotherapy and MOPP (nitrogen mustard, vincristine, procarbazine, prednisone) who developed acute myeloblastic leukemia five years after the diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease. Both cases showed typical changes of panmyelosis demonstrated by cytochemical and ultrastructural studies. In both cases, bone marrow cells had a dominant clone with a markedly abnormal karyotype. The nature of therapy-related secondary leukemia after Hodgkin's disease and its relationship to current modes of treatment are discussed.