Ultra-late relapse of acute promyelocytic leukemia 18 years after complete remission: a case report and literature review

作者：Lu Gao, Yang An, Qian Li, Shuo Shi, Jie Zhou, Zuochen Du, Pei Huang, Mingqiang Ren, Yan Chen · 发表于：Frontiers in Medicine · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.3389/fmed.2025.1651742 · 被引用次数：1 · 研究领域：Retinoids in leukemia and cellular processes、Acute Myeloid Leukemia Research、Antioxidant Activity and Oxidative Stress

Late relapse of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is associated with high mortality rates. While APL typically shows a low incidence of relapse after achieving complete remission (CR) for more than 7 years, we report a rare case of APL relapse occurring 18 years after CR was achieved. The patient was successfully treated with a combination of arsenic trioxide (ATO) and all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), leading to favorable outcomes. Additionally, we review our treatment experience and provide a comprehensive analysis of the existing literature, summarizing the characteristics of reported APL cases that relapsed after maintaining CR for over 7 years.