Cytarabine Induced Acute Cerebellar Syndrome during Hyper-CVAD Treatment for B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Abstract

Acute cerebellar syndrome can be caused by high doses of cytarabine, but it has not been described in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who received hyper-CVAD chemotherapy. Herein, we report two cases with histories of positive Philadelphia chromosome B-cell ALL who developed acute cerebellar syndrome after the exposure to relatively low doses of cytarabine in the second cycle of hyper-CVAD regimen. The cerebellar symptoms were attenuated by cytarabine discontinuation and administration of steroids. This case report provides detailed discussions on the treatments, the potential role of methotrexate in cytarabine-induced cerebellar syndrome, and the importance of carefully monitoring renal function during hyper-CVAD treatment.

Keywords

• Acute cerebellar syndrome
• Cytarabine
• Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
• Ataxia
• Chemotherapy
• Hyper-CVAD
• Neurotoxicity