Myelodysplastic Syndrome / Secondary Acute Myeloid Leukemia: role of the allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Secondary Acute Myeloid Leukemia (s-AML) refers to the development of leukemia after cytotoxic therapy, immunosuppressive therapy, radiation or an antecedent hematological disorder, such as Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS). A s-AML corresponds to 10% to 30% of AML cases and is defined by the presence of at least 20% of blast cells, representing a category of disease with a poor prognosis. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplan­tation (Allo-HSCT) is the only option with curative potential for patients with s-AML, but recurrence after HSCT emerges as a frequent cause of treatment failure and course with high mortality. We report the case of a patient with s-AML after MDS, who underwent HSCT due to refractoriness to other treatments, recovering the bone marrow with dysplasia, be­ing classified as AREB1.