Association of acquired Pelger-Huet anomaly with taxoid therapy

We describe the occurrence of acquired Pelger-Huet anomaly (APHA) in 23 patients treated with paclitaxel (13) or docetaxel (10). A consistent peak of Pelger-Huet cells (PHC) within a range of 3-9 d after treatment with taxoids was noted. The APHA generally disappeared by day 21 after treatment. Peak PHC values for the first course were significantly different in paclitaxel versus docetaxel versus control groups (P < 0.0001) with the maximum PHC counts being significantly higher for docetaxel compared with paclitaxel (P < 0.001) and for paclitaxel compared with controls (P = 0.007). We conclude that taxoid therapy produces transient APHA which peaks between days 3 and 9 and is more pronounced with docetaxel than with paclitaxel.