[Secondary leukemia following chemotherapy of various malignancies]

Recently, there has been much concern that cancer chemotherapy may have undesirable consequences in the form of secondary malignancies. At present, secondary leukemia or therapy-linked leukemia constitutes a well delineated clinical syndrome characterized by several distinct symptoms, that was illustrated by the presentation of cases recently observed. In an attempt to understand the basis for this therapy-linked leukemia, mutagenic activity of various anticancer agents were studied by the induction of sister chromatid exchanges and risk of a certain drug as a possible candidate causing secondary leukemia was discussed from the molecular cytogenetic point of view. From both clinical and cytogenetic aspects it seemed that bifunctional alkylating agents were potentially relevant to the development of secondary leukemia.