T. Budakalpdogan et al., BEHCETS-DISEASE IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA - POSSIBLE ROLE OF INTERFERON-ALPHA TREATMENT IN THE OCCURRENCE OF BEHCETS SYMPTOMS, Annals of hematology, 74(1), 1997, pp. 45-48
Two patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) who developed cha
racteristic features of Behcet's disease (ED) during alpha-interferon
(IFN-alpha) treatment and another patient who had a diagnosis of ED pr
eceding CML are presented. In the first two patients, features of ED a
ppeared 6 months after the initiation of IFN-alpha treatment; they inc
luded recurrent oral aphthae, genital ulceration, arthritis, folliculi
tis, and a positive skin pathergy test. The third patient, however, ha
d a diagnosis of Behcet's disease 4 years before diagnosis of Philadel
phia-positive CML. We prospectively examined the skin pathergy reactio
n in a group of patients with CML, multiple myeloma, and hairy cell le
ukemia both before and after IFN-alpha treatment and found two additio
nal patients with CML who developed a positive skin pathergy test foll
owing IFN-alpha treatment.