Transient Gait Disturbance after High-dose Chemotherapy Including Ara-C in a Girl with Acute Monocytic Leukemia

Abstract

A 2-year-old girl with ANLL (M5a) showed acute neurological symptoms including gait disturbance, after receiving high-dose cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C). The onset was a month after the last chemotherapy, and she recovered almost completely two months later. CT and MRI of the brain revealed normal, while SPECT of the brain showed low perfusion. It was suggested that this transient neurological episode was due to neurotoxicity of high-dose Ara-C treatment rather than CNS involvement or acute leukoencephalopathy, according to her clinical evidence and course.