Successful prevention of hematological relapse for a patient with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation by donor leukocyte infusion

Donor leukocyte infusion (DLI) was carried out on a 12-year-old girl with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph⁺ ALL) who received allogeneic bone marrow transplantation from an HLA-identical sibling. This is the first report of DLI use before the onset of hematological relapse monitored by the results of RT-PCR. This patient has been in CR for 11 months after BMT, suggesting this alternative treatment is promising for Ph⁺ ALL with positive reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) following BMT.