Leukemia - Spontaneous Remission Database

Leukemia

Epidemiology:

Leukemia ranks among the most prevalent and impactful hematologic malignancies worldwide, with an estimated incidence of approximately 1,343,850 cases reported globally in 2019¹. In the United States, the annual incidence of leukemia is around 61,780 new cases, with approximately 22,840 fatalities, underscoring its significant public health burden². Despite advances in treatments, leukemia continues to represent a leading cause of cancer-related death, reflective of its complex pathophysiology and the challenges associated with effective management³. Spontaneous remission (SR) in leukemia is exceptionally rare, occurring in fewer than 1% of diagnosed cases, with such instances often characterized by their dramatic and sustained nature, complicating efforts to accurately assess their true prevalence due to underreporting or transient remission episodes.^4,5

Clinical Characteristics:

A total of 110 well-documented cases of SR in leukemia have been reported between 1949 and 2025. The ages of affected individuals ranged from newborn to 88 years (mean ≈ 53 years), with a near-equal male-to-female ratio of approximately 1.1:1 and a peak incidence in the 50–70-year age group. Overall, SR tended to occur in older adults and occasionally in infants with congenital leukemia, with remission most often observed in systemic disease rather than localized forms. See table 1 below for further information.

Histological Characteristics:

Patients who experienced spontaneous remission of leukemia typically presented with hematologic abnormalities such as leukocytosis, cytopenia, or organomegaly, and the diagnosis was confirmed through peripheral blood and bone marrow examinations showing leukemic cell infiltration. Most cases involved advanced or systemic disease, with the bone marrow and peripheral blood being the predominant primary sites, and occasional extramedullary involvement of the skin, lymph nodes, liver, or spleen. Remission was verified by normalizing hematologic parameters and bone marrow findings demonstrating leukemic cells' disappearance or marked reduction. Nearly all SR cases were associated with durable hematologic recovery or long-term disease stability, substantially exceeding the expected prognosis for untreated leukemia.

Proposed Contributing Mechanisms:

Various mechanisms have been proposed to explain spontaneous remission in leukemia. The most frequently reported involve infection-induced immune activation, often following bacterial or viral illness, sepsis, or febrile episodes. Additional contributing factors included transfusion-related immune responses, T-lymphocytic hyperplasia, endogenous interferon activity, and hormonal or postpartum immune modulation. A few cases further described apoptotic or differentiation-related processes, such as Fas-mediated cell death or marrow recovery responses.

Site and Extent of Remission:

The bone marrow and peripheral blood were the predominant sites of both disease involvement and remission in the majority of reported leukemia SR cases. Extramedullary remissions were occasionally described, affecting the skin, lymph nodes, liver, spleen, or, rarely, the eye. In several patients, remission encompassed both medullary and extramedullary compartments, indicating systemic resolution rather than localized regression. The duration of remission varied widely, from weeks to several years, with a substantial proportion of patients achieving long-term hematologic stability or sustained remission without relapse.

Table 1: Leukemia SR Cases and Clinical Characteristics

Author–year	Age/sex	Primary site	Remission site	Proposed mechanisms	Follow-up
Birge et al., 1949⁶	33/F	Blood, bone marrow	Blood, bone marrow	Postpartum immune recovery	21 months
Pelner et al., 1958⁷	Not reported (350 patients, mixed group)	Blood	Blood	Infection-induced immune response	Not reported
Ngu, 1967⁸	4/M	Maxillae, mandibles, left cheek, right eyelid	Jaw and facial tumors	Passive immune transfer	3 months
Chervenick et al., 1967⁹	63/M	Blood	Blood	Not reported	11 years
Nagao et al., 1970¹⁰	Newborn/M	Bone marrow	Blood, bone marrow	Not reported	Not reported
Wiernik, 1976¹¹	Not reported	Blood, bone marrow	Blood, bone marrow	Bacterial or viral infection	Weeks to years
Lebedev et al., 1976¹²	Three males	Blood, bone marrow	Blood, bone marrow	Not reported	6–10 years
Lebedev et al., 1976¹²	37/F	Abdominal lymph nodes	Blood, bone marrow, lymph nodes	Not reported	5 years
Hansen & Libnoch, 1978¹³	78/M	Blood, bone marrow	Bone marrow, lymph nodes	Immune stimulation	3 years
Lachant et al., 1979¹⁴	67/F	Bone marrow	Lung, bone marrow	Infection-induced immune activation	19 months
Long et al., 1979¹⁵	7/F	Bone marrow	Blood and bone marrow	Not reported	4.5 months
Ragni & Shreiner, 1981¹⁶	Two Males	Bone marrow	Bone marrow	Not reported	22 and 16 months
Hughes et al., 1981¹⁷	58/M	Bone marrow	Bone marrow	Not reported	>2 years
Kimura et al., 1983¹⁸	36/M	Peripheral blood	Skin, lungs	Infection-induced immune activation	4 years
Silingardi et al., 1985¹⁹	53/M	Bone marrow	Liver, spleen, bone marrow	Infection-induced immune activation	17 years
Smadja et al., 1986²⁰	27/M	Bone marrow	Bone marrow	Not reported	8 years
Ribera et al., 1987²¹	49/F	Bone marrow	Lymph nodes, spleen, Waldeyer’s ring	Infection-induced immune activation	Not reported
Ribera et al., 1987²¹	57/F	Bone marrow	Lymph nodes, spleen, bone marrow	Not reported	Not reported
Deharo et al., 1987²²	Not reported	Blood	Blood	Infection-induced immune activation	Not reported
Gottesfeld et al., 1989²³	Newborn/M	Bone marrow	Skin	Not reported	26 months
Grundy et al., 2000²⁴	Newborn/M	Skin (congenital leukemia cutis)	Skin	Not reported	26 months
Jeha et al., 2000²⁵	12/M	Bone marrow, blood	Bone marrow, blood	G-CSF withdrawal	6 months
Martelli et al., 2000²⁶	26/F	Bone marrow	Bone marrow	Infection-induced immune response	25 months
Mora et al., 2000²⁷	Newborn/F (twin A)	Skin	Skin, Bone marrow	Self-limited leukemic clone	Not reported
Mora et al., 2000²⁷	Newborn/F (twin B)	Skin	Skin, Bone marrow	Self-limited leukemic clone	Not reported
Muraki et al., 2000²⁸	88/F	Bone marrow	Bone marrow, blood	Fas-mediated apoptosis	Not reported
Upshaw et al., 2002²⁹	83/M	Bone marrow	Bone marrow, blood	T-lymphocyte activation or hyperplasia	8 years
Thomas et al., 2002³⁰	60/F	Bone marrow	Blood and lymph nodes	Natural regulatory mechanism	Not reported
Thomas et al., 2002³⁰	69/M	Bone marrow	Blood, Bone Marrow, lymph nodes	Natural regulatory mechanism	Not reported
Thomas et al., 2002³⁰	70/F	Bone marrow	Blood, bone marrow	Natural regulatory mechanism	10 years
Thomas et al., 2002³⁰	51/F	Bone marrow	Blood and lymph nodes	Natural regulatory mechanism	6 years
Thomas et al., 2002³⁰	54/M	Bone marrow	Blood and lymph nodes	Natural regulatory mechanism	7 years
Thomas et al., 2002³⁰	73/F	Bone marrow	Blood, bone marrow	Natural regulatory mechanism	11 years
Thomas et al., 2002³⁰	69/F	Bone marrow	Blood, spleen, and bone marrow	Natural regulatory mechanism	4 years
Thomas et al., 2002³⁰	57/M	Bone marrow	Blood, spleen, and bone marrow	Natural regulatory mechanism	13 years
Thomas et al., 2002³⁰	47/M	Bone marrow	Blood, lymph nodes, and spleen	Natural regulatory mechanism	18 years
Sosin & Handa, 2003³¹	82/M	Blood	Blood	Infection-related immune activation	18 months
Kazakov et al., 2003³²	79/M	Skin	Skin	Not reported	18 months
Maywald et al., 2003³³	31/M	Bone marrow	Bone marrow	Infection-induced immune response	2 months
Morris, 2003³⁴	74/F	Bone marrow	Bone marrow, blood	T-lymphocytic hyperplasia	Not reported
Bassan et al., 2003³⁵	61–67/Maj F	Spleen	Blood, spleen	Cytokine suppression, immune modulation	15 years
Fozza et al., 2004³⁶	72/M	Bone marrow, blood	Bone marrow, blood	Cross-activated immune response	5 months
Müller et al., 2004³⁷	61/M	Bone marrow	Bone marrow, blood	Infection-induced immune response	29 months
Shichishima et al., 2004³⁸	69/M	Bone marrow	Bone marrow, blood	Cellular phenotype abnormality	39 months
Shichishima et al., 2004³⁸	46/M	Bone marrow	Bone marrow, blood	Cellular phenotype or immune modulation	7 years
Lander et al., 2005³⁹	Newborn/M	Skin, bone marrow	Skin	Not reported	8 months
Sonneck et al., 2005⁴⁰	56/F	Bone marrow	Bone marrow, blood	Transfusion-related immune response	Not reported
Tsavaris et al., 2006⁴¹	64/M	Bone marrow	Bone marrow, blood	Hormonal modulation via GnRH agonist	4 years
Daccache et al., 2007⁴²	83/F	Bone marrow, blood	Bone marrow, blood	Immune response	2.5 months
Jankipersadsing et al., 2007⁴³	49/F	Lungs	Pulmonary infiltrates (lungs)	Not reported	1 year
Trof et al., 2007⁴⁴	29/M	Bone marrow	Blood, bone marrow	Sepsis-induced cytokines	6 months
Trof et al., 2007⁴⁴	28/M	Bone marrow	Blood, bone marrow	Sepsis-induced cytokines	1 month
Yoruk et al., 2008⁴⁵	4/F	Blood	Bone marrow, mediastinal mass	Infection-induced immune activation	Not reported
Kanegane et al., 2009⁴⁶	6 months/M	Skin	Skin, bone marrow	Not reported	1 year
Marisavlievic et al., 2009⁴⁷	63/M	Bone marrow	Bone marrow	Transfusion-related immune response	7 years
Bernardeschi & Pirrotta, 2010⁴⁸	40/F (pregnant)	Blood	Blood	Elevated interferon levels during pregnancy	Not reported
Teng et al., 2011⁴⁹	75/M	Bone marrow	Bone marrow, blood	Infection-induced immune activation	21 weeks
Wu et al., 2011⁵⁰	Newborn/F	Skin and bone marrow	Skin and bone marrow	Not reported	11 months
Alsultan et al., 2012⁵¹	29 months/M	Blood, bone marrow	Blood, bone marrow	Not reported	>2 years
Boonchalermyichian et al., 2012⁵²	50/F	Bone marrow, blood	Bone marrow, blood	Immune response	5 months
Elhasid et al., 2012⁵³	9 months/M	Bone marrow	Bone marrow	Immune activation	4 months
Herishanu et al., 2012⁵⁴	54/M	Lymph nodes	Lymph nodes, bone marrow	Cancer immune surveillance	3 years
Xie et al., 2012⁵⁵	42/M	Bone marrow and blood	Bone marrow and blood	Cytokine-mediated immune response	2 Years
Zeng et al., 2013⁵⁶	31/M	Bone marrow, lung	Bone marrow	Immune response to infection	Not reported
Zeng et al., 2013⁵⁶	34/F	Bone marrow, skin	Bone marrow	Immune response to infection	Not reported
Nakhla et al., 2013⁵⁷	70/M	Blood	Blood	Not reported	5 months
Adam & Eltayeb, 2014⁵⁸	35/M	Blood, bone marrow	Bone marrow	Immune response, blood transfusion	6 weeks
Yasuda et al., 2014⁵⁹	67/M	Skin, stomach	Skin lesions	Not reported	Not reported
Purohit et al., 2015⁶⁰	46/M	Blood, bone marrow	Blood, bone marrow	Not reported	Not reported
Kumar et al., 2015⁶¹	7/M	Bone marrow, blood	Bone marrow, blood	Parvovirus B19–induced cytotoxicity	4 years
Vachhani et al., 2016⁶²	73/F	Blood, bone marrow	Bone marrow	Innate host immune responses	Not reported
Jesudas et al., 2017⁶³	2months/F	Skin, bone marrow	Skin, bone marrow	Not reported	6 weeks
Barrett et al., 2017⁶⁴	Infant/F	Skin, bone marrow	Skin, bone marrow	Not reported	5 months
Mozafari et al., 2017⁶⁵	53/M	Bone marrow, blood	Bone marrow	Immune activation	Not reported
Ikawa et al., 2018⁶⁶	Newborn/F	Bone marrow	Bone marrow	Congenital AML, chromosome 8 translocation	3 months
Höres et al., 2018⁶⁷	31/F	Blood	Blood	Infection-induced cytokine immune response	6 weeks
Iqbal et al., 2018⁶⁸	15 months/F	Bone marrow	Bone marrow	Infection-induced cytokine immune response	173 days
Hoshino et al., 2018⁶⁹	49/F	Bone marrow	Bone marrow	Not reported	4 months
Grunwald et al., 2019⁷⁰	72/M	Bone marrow	Bone marrow, skin	Not reported	Not reported
Suyama et al., 2019⁷¹	67/M	Bone marrow	Bone marrow	Immune response	Not reported
Rautenberg et al., 2019⁷²	42/F	Bone marrow	Bone marrow	Infection-induced immune response	Not reported
Suzuki et al., 2019⁷³	47/F	Blood	Skin	Cytotoxic response	Not reported
Bradley et al., 2020⁷⁴	58/M	Bone marrow	Bone marrow	Marrow stress response	Not reported
Kubo et al., 2020⁷⁵	36 days/F	Bone marrow	Bone marrow	Not reported	Not reported
Martínez-Díez et al., 2022⁷⁶	71/M	Blood	Bone marrow	Infection-induced immune activation	Not reported
Bülbül et al., 2022⁷⁷	67/M	Blood	Bone marrow	Cytokine-induced antitumor immunity	5 months
Barkhordar et al., 2022⁷⁸	57/F	Bone marrow	Bone marrow	Infection-induced immune response	6 months
Alshurafa et al., 2023⁷⁹	56/M	Blood	Bone marrow	Not reported	5 months
Imataki et al., 2023⁸⁰	80/F	Blood	Bone marrow	Infection-induced immune activation	15 months
McCormick et al., 2024⁸¹	3/F	Bone marrow	Bone marrow	Sepsis-induced cytokines	Not reported
Diral et al., 2024⁸²	65/F	Bone marrow	Eye (choroid)	Not reported	1 year
Peñuela et al., 2024⁸³	25/F	Blood	Bone marrow	Immune response	5 months
Higaki-Mori et al., 2025⁸⁴	47/M	Skin	Skin	Not reported	Not reported
Southam et al., 1951⁸⁵				Infection-related, adrenal stress
Al-Tawfiq, 2007⁸⁶			Infection Related Remission
Hudecek et al., 2007⁸⁷	35/F	Blood	Blood	Immune recovery	Persistent CR after relapse
Thomas, 2009⁸⁸	60/M	Blood vessels	Lung lesions	none	9 months
D'Arena et al., 2014⁸⁹	57/F	Blood		Immune response
D'Arena et al., 2014⁸⁹	75/F	Blood	Blood	Immune response
Kazmierczak et al., 2014⁹⁰	77/M	Blood	Blood	Graft versus host disease and graft-versus leukemia	Complete hematological remission by November 2011
Gyarfas et al., 2016⁹¹	14 months/F	Bone marrow, oral mucosa, skin	Bone marrow	Cytokine release	Complete clinical improvement
Gomez et al., 2002⁹²	64/M	Bone marrow	Bone marrow		42 months
Muller-Schmah et al., 2012⁹³	61/M	Bone marrow	Peripheral blood	Immune response
Shichishima et al., 2000⁹⁴	69/M	Bone marrow	Bone marrow	Unusual cell features	2 years
Van et al., 2004⁹⁵	3.5/F	Skin	Soles of both feet	Immune response, low tumor burden	Well at 3.5 years
Wajima, 2000⁹⁶	77/M	Bone marrow		Altered host-tumor relationship	3 years
Helbid, 2020⁹⁷	40/M	Bone marrow	Bone marrow	Immune-mediated
Raza et al., 1985⁹⁸			Bone marrow	Immune system stimulation
Schnitzer et al., 8357⁹⁹	73/M				Spontaneous remission
Han, 1987¹⁰⁰	37-69/M:7, F:4			Viral infection	5 alive, 2 died unrelated
Hackett & Hallidie-Smith et al., 1984¹⁰¹	1/F
Chan et al., 1989¹⁰²	7w/F				Normal heart at 8 weeks
Labbe et al., 1983¹⁰³	3/F				2 years
Weintraub et al., 2000¹⁰⁴	7 days/F	Bone marrow	Skin and bone marrow	Not reported	15 months

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Boonchalermyichian R, et al. Spontaneous, transient regression of B lymphoblastic leukemia in an adult patient: a variant presentation of prodromal/pre-ALL. Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2012;29(7):624–626. doi:10.3109/08880018.2012.710299
Elhasid R, Tohami T, Moustafa-Hawash N, Ben-Ezra J, Izraeli S, Sayar D. Spontaneous remission of childhood acute marrow fibrosis and megakaryoblastic leukemia. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2012;34(7):565–568. doi:10.1097/MPH.0b013e318257a172
Herishanu Y, Solar I, Ben-Ezra J, Cipok M, Meirsdorf S, Amariglio N, Hoffman S, Kay S, Aharon Z, Perry C, Polliack A, Naparstek E. Complete spontaneous regression of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. J Clin Oncol. 2012;30(26):e254–e256. doi:10.1200/JCO.2011.40.7536
Xie W, Zhao Y, Cao L, Huang W, Wang Y, Huang H. Cutaneous blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm occurring after spontaneous remission of acute myeloid leukemia: a case report and review of literature. Med Oncol. 2012;29(4):2417-2422. doi:10.1007/s12032-012-0215-y
Zeng Q, Yuan Y, Li P, Chen T. Spontaneous remission in patients with acute myeloid leukemia with t(8;21) or cutaneous myeloid sarcoma: two case reports and a review of the literature. Intern Med. 2013;52(11):1227–1233. doi:10.2169/internalmedicine.52.9505
Nakhla PS, Butera JN, Treaba DO, Castillo JJ, Quesenberry PJ. Spontaneous regression of chronic lymphocytic leukemia to a monoclonal B-lymphocytosis or to a normal phenotype. Leuk Lymphoma. 2013;54(8):1647–1651. doi:10.3109/10428194.2012.753449
Adam M, Eltayeb A. Spontaneous remission in acute myeloid leukemia: a case report. Gulf J Oncol. 2014;1(15):84–86.
Yasuda H, Takaku T, Tomomatsu J, Hosone M, Tanaka H, Komatsu N. Spontaneous regression of cutaneous blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm followed by acute monocytic leukemia evolving from myelodysplastic syndrome. Intern Med. 2014;53(23):2717–2720. doi:10.2169/internalmedicine.53.2740
Purohit A, Aggarwal M, Kumar S, Seth T, Mishra P, Mahapatra M, Saxena R, Sharma R, Singh PK, Venkateshan S. Spontaneous remission of adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a very rare event. Indian J Hematol Blood Transfus. 2015;31(1):159–160. doi:10.1007/s12288-014-0351-y
Kumar A, Moulik NR, Kishore J, Kumar A, Jain A. Prolonged remission in a child with chronic myeloid leukemia following Parvovirus B19 (B19V) infection. Indian J Med Microbiol. 2015;33(3):432–434. doi:10.4103/0255-0857.158580
Vachhani P, Mendler JH, Evans A, Deeb G, Starostik P, Wallace PK, Wang ES. Spontaneous remission in an older patient with relapsed FLT3 ITD mutant acute myeloid leukemia. Case Rep Hematol. 2016;2016:1259759. doi:10.1155/2016/1259759
Jesudas R, Buck SA, Savasan S. Spontaneous remission of congenital acute myeloid leukemia with skin involvement and t(1;11)(p32;q23). Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2017;64(3):e26269. doi:10.1002/pbc.26269
Barrett R, Morash B, Roback D, Pambrun C, Marfleet L, Ketterling RP, Harrison K, Berman JN. FISH identifies a KAT6A/CREBBP fusion caused by a cryptic insertional t(8;16) in a case of spontaneously remitting congenital acute myeloid leukemia with a normal karyotype. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2017;64(5):e26450. doi:10.1002/pbc.26450
Mozafari R, Moeinian M, Asadollahi-Amin A. Spontaneous complete remission in a patient with acute myeloid leukemia and severe sepsis. Case Rep Hematol. 2017;2017:9593750. doi:10.1155/2017/9593750
Ikawa Y, Nishimura R, Maeba H, Fujiki T, Kuroda R, Noguchi K, Fukuda M, et al. Deep spontaneous molecular remission in a patient with congenital acute myeloid leukemia expressing a novel MOZ-p300 fusion transcript. Leuk Lymphoma. 2018;59(10):2497–2499. doi:10.1080/10428194.2018.1434885
Höres T, Wendelin K, Schaefer-Eckart K. Spontaneous remission of acute lymphoblastic leukemia: a case report. Oncol Lett. 2018;15(1):115–120. doi:10.3892/ol.2017.7288
Iqbal A, Weinstein J, Angelova V, Dighe D, Giordano L. A rare case of spontaneous remission of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase negative B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia. J Pediatr Hematol Oncol. 2018;40(3):e176–e178. doi:10.1097/MPH.0000000000000906
Hoshino T, Taki T, Takada S, Hatsumi N, Sakura T. Spontaneous remission of adult acute myeloid leukemia with t(8;16)(p11;p13)/MOZ-CBP fusion. Leuk Lymphoma. 2018;59(1):253–255. doi:10.1080/10428194.2017.1320712
Grunwald VV, Hentrich M, Schiel X, et al. Patients with spontaneous remission of high-risk MDS and AML show persistent preleukemic clonal hematopoiesis. Blood Adv. 2019;3(18):2696–2699. doi:10.1182/bloodadvances.2019000265
Suyama T, Hasebe K. Spontaneous remission of acute monocytic leukemia with trisomy 8 and trisomy 18. J Clin Exp Hematop. 2019;59(2):96–97. doi:10.3960/jslrt.19005
Rautenberg C, Kaivers J, Germing U, Haas R, Schroeder T, Kobbe G. Spontaneous remission in a patient with very late relapse of acute myeloid leukemia 17 years after allogeneic blood stem cell transplantation. Eur J Haematol. 2019;103(2):131–133. doi:10.1111/ejh.13245
Suzuki C, Hirai I, Nomura H, Ouchi T, Okayama M, Okamoto S, Amagai M, Tanese K, Takahashi H. Gamma-delta T cell large granular lymphocyte leukaemia with multiple cutaneous nodules that showed spontaneous regression. J Eur Acad Dermatol Venereol. 2019;33(3):e134–e137. doi:10.1111/jdv.15341
Bradley T, Zuquello RA, Aguirre LE, et al. Spontaneous remission of acute myeloid leukemia with NF1 alteration. Leuk Res Rep. 2020;13:100204. doi:10.1016/j.lrr.2020.100204
Kubo N, Iwabuchi H, Imamura M, Saitoh A, Imai C. Spontaneous remission of infant acute myeloid leukemia with a novel four-way translocation. Pediatr Blood Cancer. 2020;67(2):e28052. doi:10.1002/pbc.28052
Martínez-Díez Y, Franganillo-Suárez A, Salgado-Sánchez R, et al. Spontaneous remission of acute myeloid leukemia: a case report. Medicina (Kaunas). 2022;58(7):921. doi:10.3390/medicina58070921
Bülbül H, Nazlı HE, Olgun A, Togay A, Kahraman DS. Spontaneous remission of chronic lymphocytic leukemia in a patient with SARS-CoV-2. Leuk Res Rep. 2022;18:100336. doi:10.1016/j.lrr.2022.100336
Barkhordar M, Rostami FT, Yaghmaie M, et al. Spontaneous complete remission of acute myeloid leukemia in the absence of disease-modifying therapy following severe pulmonary involvement by COVID-19. Case Rep Hematol. 2022;2022:2603607. doi:10.1155/2022/2603607
Alshurafa A, Ekeibed Y, Akiki S, et al. Spontaneous remission in a patient with chronic myeloid leukemia: a case report. Case Rep Oncol. 2023;16(1):1073–1079. doi:10.1159/000533660
Imataki O, Ishida T, Kida JI, et al. Repeated spontaneous remission of acute myeloid leukemia in response to various infections: a case report. BMC Infect Dis. 2023;23(1):215. doi:10.1186/s12879-023-08108-z
McCormick BJ, Imran H. Spontaneous remission of acute lymphoblastic leukemia following Candida tropicalis fungemia. Cureus. 2024;16(6):e62435. doi:10.7759/cureus.62435
Diral E, Catalano G, Cicinelli MV, et al. Spontaneous remission of choroidal involvement by chronic myelomonocytic leukemia: a case report. Front Oncol. 2024;14:1399894. doi:10.3389/fonc.2024.1399894
Peñuela R, Hernandez I, Fernandes-Pineda M, et al. Spontaneous remission without treatment of acute myelomonocytic leukemia associated with COVID-19 infection. Hematol Transfus Cell Ther. 2024;46(4):506–510. doi:10.1016/j.htct.2023.11.004
Higaki-Mori H, Yamada N, Ozaki K, Nishimura MF, Yoshida Y. Spontaneous complete regression of aleukaemic cutaneous myeloid sarcoma without progression to leukaemia over a long-term follow-up period. Acta Derm Venereol. 2025;105:adv42339. doi:10.2340/actadv.v105.42339
Southam et al., 1951. A Study of the Natural History of Acute Leukemia with Special Reference to the Duration of the Disease and the Occurrence of Remissions. Cancer 4: 1951; 39-59
Al-Tawfiq, J. A., & Al-Khatti, A. A. (2007). Spontaneous remission of acute monocytic leukemia after infection with clostridium septicum. International Journal of Laboratory Hematology, 29(5), 386-389. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2257.2006.00846.x Spontaneous remissions of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have been reported in association with infection. Here, we report a case of spontaneous remission of AML in a 47-year-old Saudi Arabian male patient who presented with a few weeks history of recurrent abdominal pain, vomiting and fever. He was diagnosed with acute monocytic leukemia (AML, FAB M5b) and a perforated bowel. He also had Clostridium septicum bacteremia and thus chemotherapy was deferred. He received supportive therapy and intravenous antibiotics. Six weeks later, he achieved spontaneous and complete remission lasting for about 4 months. The remission and relapse were documented by bone marrow examination. Similarly, previous reports of spontaneous remission of AML were short lived and were followed by relapse and progression.
Hudecek, M., BARTsch, K., Jäkel, N., Heyn, S., Pfannes, R., Al-Ali, H. K., Cross, M., Pönisch, W., Gerecke, U., Edelmann, J., Ittel, T., & Niederwieser, D. (2008). spontaneous remission of acute myeloid leukemia relapse after hematopoietic cell transplantation in a high-risk patient with 11q23/MLL abnormality. Acta haematologica, 119(2), 111–114. https://doi.org/10.1159/000121827
Thomas, J., & Gaffney, J. K. (2007). spontaneous remission in Wegener's granulomatosis. Scandinavian journal of rheumatology, 36(4), 324–326. https://doi.org/10.1080/03009740701250769
D’Arena, G., Guariglia, R., Pietrantuono, G., Villani, O., MARTorelli, M. C., Mansueto, G., … Musto, P. (2014). More on spontaneous regression of chronic lymphocytic leukemia: two new cases and potential role of lamivudine in a further patient with advanced disease and hepatitis B virus infection. Leukemia & Lymphoma, 55(8), 1955–1957. https://doi.org/10.3109/10428194.2013.858151
Kaźmierczak, M., Szczepaniak, A., Czyż, A., Rupa-Matysek, J., & Komarnicki, M. (2014). spontaneous hematological remission of acute myeloid leukemia. Contemporary oncology (Poznan, Poland), 18(1), 67–69. https://doi.org/10.5114/wo.2013.38915
Gyárfás, T., Wintgens, J., Biskup, W., Oschlies, I., Klapper, W., Sieberight, R., Bens, S., Haferlach, C., Meisel, R., Kuhlen, M., & Borkhardt, A. (2016). Transient spontaneous remission in congenital MLL-AF10 rearranged acute myeloid leukemia presenting with cardiorespiratory failure and meconium ileus. Molecular and cellular pediatrics, 3(1), 30. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40348-016-0061-7
Gómez García, E. B., van Lochem, E. G., van Lom, K., & Hooijkaas, H. (2002). spontaneous remission of b-chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. British journal of haematology, 119(3), 874–875. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2141.2002.03870_1.x
Müller-Schmah, C., Solari, L., Weis, R., Pfeifer, D., Scheibenbogen, C., Trepel, M., May, A. M., Engelhardt, R., & Lübberight, M. (2012). Immune response as a possible mechanism of long-lasting disease control in spontaneous remission of MLL/AF9-positive acute myeloid leukemia. Annals of hematology, 91(1), 27–32. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00277-011-1332-y
Shichishima, T., Kawaguchi, M., Ono, N., Oshimi, K., Nakamura, N., & Maruyama, Y. (2004). Gammadelta T-cell large granular lymphocyte (LGL) leukemia with spontaneous remission. American journal of hematology, 75(3), 168–172. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajh.10480
van den Berg, H., Hopman, A. H., Kraakman, K. C., & de Jong, D. (2004). spontaneous remission in congenital leukemia is not related to (mosaic) trisomy 21: case presentation and literature review. Pediatric hematology and oncology, 21(2), 135–144. https://doi.org/10.1080/08880010490273000
Wajima T. (2000). spontaneous regression of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and simultaneous development of autoimmune hemolytic anemia and autoimmune thrombocytopenia. American journal of hematology, 65(1), 88–89. https://doi.org/10.1002/1096-8652(200009)65:1<88::aid-ajh20>3.0.co;2-q
Helbig, D., Quesada, A. E., Xiao, W., Roshal, M., Tallman, M. S., & Knorr, D. A. (2020). Spontaneous Remission in a Patient With Acute Myeloid Leukemia Leading to Undetectable Minimal Residual Disease. Journal of hematology, 9(1-2), 18–22. https://doi.org/10.14740/jh606
Raza et al., 1985. Spontaneous Remission in Acute Nonlymphocytic Leukemia. New York State Journal of Medicine 85(6): Jun 1985; 269-270
Lancet 2(8357): Oct 29 1983; 1030
Han, T. 1987. Spontaneous Remission of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: An Update. Blood Cells 12(2): 1987; 481-483
Hackett & Hallidie-Smith, 1984. Spontaneous Closure of Coronary Artery Fistula. British Heart Journal 52(4): Oct 1984; 477-479
Chan et al., 1989. Spontaneous Resolution of Pulmonary Stenosis. International Journal of Cardiology 24: 1989; 375-377
Labbe et al., 1983. Spontaneously Acquired Factor VIII Inhibitor in a Non-Haemophiliac Child. Acta Paediatrica Scandinavica 72: 1983; 621-623

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