Pregnancy-induced hypertension caused by all-trans retinoic acid treatment in acute promyelocytic leukemia.

A 23-year-old pregnant female presented with fever and diarrhea during the sixth month of gestation. The patient was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) at 26 weeks gestation and was treated with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) at an initial dose of 45 mg/m2/day, which was reduced to 25 mg/m2/day 14 days later. The patient experienced chest distress, polypnea, hypertension, general dropsy and dysfunction of the kidneys and heart on day 3 of the treatment, which suggested pregnancy-induced hypertension. Intrauterine fetal demise was apparent on day 8. A cesarean delivery was performed, however, intrauterine fetal mortality had occurred. A favorable outcome was achieved for the patient following treatment, although hematological complete remission was slow. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to describe an APL patient with pregnancy-induced hypertension following treatment with ATRA, and thus ATRA remains a suitable for therapy for APL during pregnancy.