[Secondary acute leukemia in Hodgkin's disease]

Two secondary acute leukaemias out of 166 patients with Hodgkin's disease were detected. At a young female patient treated only with chemotherapy the acute leukaemia developed 39 months following the diagnosis of Hodgkin's disease. Phenotype of leukaemic blast cells could not be determined exactly. After a short complete remission (1,5 month) the patient died because of the progression of her leukaemic process. The other young male patient treated with radio- and chemotherapy had six years disease free interval between the diagnosis of two malignant diseases. The combined cytostatic treatment of his acute lymphoblastic leukaemia resulted complete remission that lasted for one year but later the progression of leukaemia caused death. In connection with these cases the authors reviewed the current questions of treatment related acute leukaemias in Hodgkin's disease.