Pregnancy improves neutropenia in T-cell large granular lymphocyte leukaemia

Abstract

The effect of pregnancy on T-cell large granular lymphocyte (LGL) leukaemia has not been previously described. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical features of three patients with T-cell LGL leukaemia; each of them had one or more pregnancies during disease evolution. Pregnancy was associated with sustained improvement in neutrophil count and concurrent reduction in lymphocytosis. Neutropenia returned in the non-pregnant state in all cases. A similar effect, induced by exogenous progesterone in one patient, suggests a role for progesterone in overcoming mechanisms of neutropenia in this disease. Pregnancy thus appears to have a beneficial effect on neutrophil count in T-cell LGL leukaemia.