Rhinocerebral mucormycosis following donor leukocyte infusion: successful treatment with liposomal amphotericin B and surgical debridement

Abstract

A 24-year-old male developed cytogenetic relapse of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) four years after allogeneic BMT. After a year of treatment with IFN-α, he achieved a partial cytogenetic response. Treatment with donor leukocyte infusions (DLI) was given (total dose 1 × 10⁸ T lymphocytes/kg). Two months later, he developed acute GVHD (skin and liver), that improved with CsA and methylprednisolone and resulted in cytogenetic remission with complete donor chimerism. One month later he developed rhinocerebral mucormycosis and was successfully treated with surgical debridement and liposomal amphotericin B (total dose 12 g). This is the first case of mucormycosis described after DLI.