Maternal and fetal outcomes in pregnancy complicated with acute leukemia:: a single institutional experience with 10 pregnancies at 16 years

The incidence of acute leukemia in pregnancy is low and the management of acute leukemia during pregnancy is difficult. We have observed a total of 10 pregnancies in 8 patients. Six of the patients had acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) and two of them had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Three of the pregnancies were diagnosed when the leukemia was in remission, six at the time of leukemia diagnosis and one at the time of leukemic relapse. Six of the pregnancies were found in first trimester, three in the second and one early in the third. Three pregnancies ended with spontaneous abortion, three with intrauterine death and three with medical termination. One of spontaneous abortions and one intrauterine death developed during combination chemotherapy (daunorubicin, cytarabine). Only 1 healthy baby survived from the 10 pregnancies and this child was the not exposed to chemotherapeutic agents. None of the cases had gynecologic and obstetric complications. Five of eight pregnant women with leukemia died because of the primary disease. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.