Long-term remission in an elderly patient with mantle cell leukemia treated with low-dose cyclophosphamide

We present an elderly patient with mantle cell leukemia who was successfull y treated with low-dose cyclophosphamide (CY), A 76-year-old female was dia gnosed as mantle cell leukemia based on abnormal lymphocytosis and splenome galy without lymphadenopathy, She was orally treated with 50 mg of CY daily and had continuous remission over 4 years, Rearrangements of BCL1 and immu noglobulin heavy chain genes in the peripheral blood lymphocytes were detec ted at diagnosis, but not 1 or 4 years later, Further studies are required to confirm the role of low-dose CY therapy for patients with mantle cell le ukemia and lymphoma. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.