Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Presenting With Pancytopenia Followed by a 14-Month-Long Period of Transient Remission Possibly Supporting the Adrenal Hypothesis of Leukemogenesis

A small group of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have a preleukemic phase of pancytopenia followed by a period of spontaneous remission before the diagnosis (pre-ALL). A 6-year-old girl presented with pancytopenia, fever, and myelodysplasia. Following transient remission pre-B ALL was diagnosed 14 months later. Clonal B-lineage blasts at the period of pancytopenia were identified retrospectively. The interval between pre-ALL and ALL-diagnosis was longer than previously reported. The infection was clinically severe and might have induced a significant endogenous corticosteroids production resulting in the long-lasting remission. The case supports the adrenal and the Coley’s toxin hypothesis in leukemogenesis.