Venetoclax activity in a patient with central nervous system involvement by chronic lymphocytic leukaemia

Abstract

In March, 2021, a 72-year-old man with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia presented to Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, MA, USA) with several weeks of progressive fatigue, drenching night sweats, unquenchable thirst, and polyuria. He had presented 4 years earlier with a right seventh cranial nerve deficit, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis showed involvement by chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, which is a rare complication. MRI of the brain at the time was unrevealing. Bone marrow biopsy and aspirate confirmed chronic lymphocytic leukaemia with 17p deletion and TP53 and SF3B1 mutations.