Treatment of relapsed Langerhans cell histiocytosis by cyclosporin A combined with etoposide and prednisone

Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 1997 Sep-Oct;14(5):443-9. doi: 10.3109/08880019709028774.

Abstract

Optimal treatment for Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) has not yet been established. High-risk patients with systemic LCH may have a fatal course of the disease despite intensive treatment. New approaches using cyclosporin A (CSA) showed promising results. Here, we report on a 4-year-old boy who presented with systemic LCH of skin, liver, bone, bone marrow, and soft tissue infiltrates. The patient was refractory to conventional therapy including VP16, prednisone, 6-mer-captopurine, methotrexate, and vinblastine. Therefore the patient was treated with CSA as continuous therapy (serum levels were kept between 300 and 400 ng/mL) as well as intensification with VP16 and prednisone every 4 weeks. As early as 4 months after starting this treatment, clinical symptoms completely disappeared except for a slightly enlarged liver. During the next 12 months all clinical symptoms except a limited skin involvement vanished although treatment with VP16 and prednisone was stopped and CSA serum levels were kept between 100 and 150 mg/mL. In conclusion, intensive therapy using high-dose CSA combined with VP16 and prednisone might be a therapeutic option for patients with otherwise refractory LCH.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal / therapeutic use*
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / therapeutic use*
  • Cyclosporine / therapeutic use*
  • Drug Therapy, Combination
  • Etoposide / therapeutic use*
  • Histiocytosis, Langerhans-Cell / drug therapy*
  • Histiocytosis, Langerhans-Cell / pathology
  • Humans
  • Immunosuppressive Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Infant
  • Male
  • Prednisone / therapeutic use*
  • Recurrence

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal
  • Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic
  • Immunosuppressive Agents
  • Etoposide
  • Cyclosporine
  • Prednisone