Spontaneous Remission in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Spontaneous remission or regression of cancer is defined as partial or complete disappearance of malignant disease temporarily or permanently in the absence of any specific treatment. The condition is named spontaneous regression for solid tumors and spontaneous remission (SR) for leukemia [1]. Spontaneous remission has been reported in different hematological malignancies. It has been observed in adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma 9 [2], chronic lymphocytic leukemia [3] and myelodysplastic syndrome [4]. Many cases of SR have been also reported in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), few for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and rarely for adult ALL [1,5,6]. An association of SR in acute leukemias with concomitant bacterial, viral or fungal infections has been noted. The cytokine release after infections has been considered to cause regression via immune modulation mechanisms [7]. We herein, describe a patient with ALL seen at our institution that went temporarily for spontaneous remission.