Successful allogeneic stem cell transplantation for an adult with refractory anaplastic lymphoma kinase - Positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma

Anaplastic lymphoma kinase (ALK) expression exists in approximately 60% of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) cases. Compared with the ALK-negative cases, ALK-positive cases are usually characterized by a good response to chemotherapy and a good prognosis. In the relapsed or refractory ALCL cases, high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation has been widely used as a salvage therapy. However, 40% of patients who received transplants after more than 2 complete remissions eventually experienced disease progression, despite receiving autologous stem cell transplantation. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation has been proposed as a therapeutic option in refractory ALCL cases, but clinical reports of adult patients are rare. Herein, we report the case of an adult with refractory ALK-positive ALCL who was successfully treated with salvage high-dose chemotherapy followed by allogeneic stem cell transplantation.