Therapy-related leukemia with Inv(16)(p13.1q22) and type D CBFB/MYH11 developing after exposure to...

A 40-year-old woman developed therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia (t-AML) with inv(16)(p13.1q22) and a rare type D form of core-binding factor β-subunit gene-myosin heavy chain 11 gene (CBFB-MYH11) fusion transcript approximately 2.5 years after receiving chemoradiotherapy for uterine cervical cancer. t-AML with inv(16)(p13.1q22) and rare non-type A CBFB-MYH11 typically develops after exposure to a topoisomerase II inhibitor, with a short period of latency of one to five years. As the patient had no history of exposure to topoisomerase II inhibitors, among her previously used chemotherapeutics, the topoisomerase I inhibitor, irinotecan, was speculated to be the most plausible cause of t-AML in this case. The present case suggests that irinotecan may cause t-AML resembling that associated with topoisomerase II inhibitors.