Effect of Decitabine Combined with Unrelated Cord Blood Transplantation in an Adult Patient with -7/EVI1+ Acute Myeloid Leukemia: a Case Report and Literature Review.

Patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (rAML) have a poor prognosis if they do not undergo hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). We describe a case herein of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with monosomy 7 and EVI1(+)(-7/EVI1(+)) in a patient who failed to achieve a complete remission (CR) after two cycles of standard induction chemotherapy. He subsequently received decitabine (DAC) as "bridge therapy" and directly underwent unrelated cord blood transplantation (UCBT) due to the absence of an available sibling donor. Although DAC treatment did not induce CR, it did produce hematologic improvement and control disease progression with acceptable side effects, thus effectively bridging the time of donor search. Following UCBT, the marrow showed complete hematologic and cytogenetic remission. At present, 18 months after the transplantation, the patient's general condition is still good.