Vitamin A Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Vitamin A, including details on retinol, benefits, dosage, supplements, deficiency, information.

Genital ulcers after treatment with all-trans-retinoic acid in a child with acute promyelocytic leukemia.

Unal S, Gümrük F, Cetin M, Hiçsönmez G

Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Pediatric Hematology, Ihsan Dogramaci Children's Hospital, Ankara, Turkey.

All-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA) has been shown to improve the outcome of patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). However, various adverse effects of ATRA treatment have been noted, such as scrotal and genital ulcers in adult patients. The authors report genital ulcers that developed in a child with APL after ATRA treatment. An 8-year-old girl with APL was treated with ATRA for 21 days and after discontinuation of ATRA treatment she developed genital ulcers. Systemic and local antibiotic pomades were applied and the lesions improved within 15 days. In conclusion, genital ulcers may develop in children with APL as a complication of ATRA treatment and physicians should be alert to this possibility.

Published 15 July 2005 in Pediatr Hematol Oncol, 22(5): 357-9.
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