A case of adult T-cell leukemia initiated with central nervous system symptoms

We treated a 52-year-old Japanese woman with adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) initiated with central nervous system (CNS) symptoms. Her chief complaints were paraplegia and left facial palsy. CNS-ATL was diagnosed because of the following three features. 1) Various sized lymphoid cells with marked nuclear convolution were numerous in her cerebrospinal fluid. 2) These cells were a monoclonal proliferation of T lymphocytes with OKT 4 marker. 3) The patient's serum was positive for anti-ATL associated antigen (ATLA). Although the neurological signs and symptoms improved markedly after intrathecal administration of combined chemotherapy (methotrexate, cytarabine and corticosteroid), these ATL cells were highly resistant to radiation therapy. The abdominal mass which developed in the course of the disease was diagnosed as a tumor formed of ATL cells, and VEPA (vincristine, endoxan, prednisolone and adriamycin) was administered with marked success.