A Rare Morphology Resembling APL with t (11;12) (p15;q13) in Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Case Report and Literature Review

BACKGROUND: To investigate the clinical features of and therapeutic options for a rare morphology resembling APL with t (11;12) (p15;q13) in acute myeloid leukemia. METHODS: One case of APL-like acute leukemia with a t (11;12) (p15;q13) translocation is reported and related literature is retrospectively reviewed. RESULTS: A rare acute myeloid leukemia with a t (11;12) (p15;q13) translocation was diagnosed by morphology, immunophenotyping, chromosome analysis, and fusion gene detection, without finding a classical t (15;17) (q24.1;q21.1) translocation and the PML-RARa fusion gene. The patient responded poorly to differentiation induction therapy with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO). In the three previous cases re-ported, poor results were obtained with ATRA and/or ATO therapy. CONCLUSIONS: We reported a rare meaningful AML patient with t (11;12) (p15;q13). Standard AML regimens may be preferred. These APL-like leukemias may benefit from hematopoietic stem cell transplantation treatment. Further investigation involving more cases is needed to determine the role of t (11;12) (p15;q13) in AML and to find better therapy choices.