Prolonged Response in Patient With Multiply Relapsed B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Monosomy-7 to Bortezomib, Lenalidomide, and Dexamethasone

Isolated monosomy-7, a rare cytogenetic abnormality in patients with pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), portends a worse prognosis. Despite improvements in treatment, outcomes for patients with relapsed ALL remain poor. Novel treatments adopted from the B-cell malignancy multiple myeloma may have a role in treatment of ALL. Bortezomib is one such agent currently in phase III trials for B and T ALL. This study presents a patient with B-cell ALL and monosomy-7 who relapsed off therapy. The combination of bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone was used to attain remission before bone marrow transplant after conventional relapse therapy failed. A recurrence after bone marrow transplant was controlled for a prolonged period with the same therapy. The case supports the hypothesis that bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone should be further explored in the treatment of B-cell ALL with monosomy-7.