AUTHOR=Chen Li , Zhu Hongming , Zhu Yongmei , Jin Wen , Dong Fangyi , Li Jianfeng , Hu Jiong , Chen Qiusheng , Wang Kankan , Li Junmin 

TITLE=Case Report: Successful therapy with all-trans retinoic acid combined with chemotherapy followed by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for acute promyelocytic leukemia carrying the BCOR-RARA fusion gene

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Oncology

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/oncology/articles/10.3389/fonc.2022.1013046

DOI=10.3389/fonc.2022.1013046

ISSN=2234-943X

ABSTRACT=<p>Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is characterized by the balanced translocation of chromosomes 15 and 17, resulting in the formation of <italic>PML-RARA</italic> fusion gene. More than 98% of APL have <italic>PML-RARA</italic> fusion, and less than 2% have other types of <italic>RARA</italic> gene partners, which named variant APL (vAPL). In the present study, we reported a vAPL with <italic>BCOR-RARA</italic>, which was the third case of <italic>BCOR-RARA</italic> APL published. The patient achieved complete remission (CR) with all-<italic>trans</italic> retinoic acid (ATRA) monotherapy, and molecular CR with ATRA plus standard chemotherapy. After that, he underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) and ATRA maintenance and maintained a molecular CR status. This case provided valuable insights into the accurate identification of vAPL. Moreover, ATRA combined with chemotherapy followed by allo-HSCT was suggested as an optimal choice for those vAPL patients who had a high risk of relapse.</p>