Acute leukemia during pregnancy: a single center experience with 23 cases, 2012–2022 and literature review

Acute Leukemia (AL) diagnosed during pregnancy is uncommon, and the management of AL complicated by pregnancy is a poorly studied area that faces a therapeutic dilemma. 23 cases diagnosed with AL during pregnancy were collected from our center between 2012 and 2022. Additionally, we summarized 17 clinical studies on AL diagnosed during pregnancy. Sixteen AML and seven ALL patients were diagnosed during pregnancy in our center; most patients diagnosed during the first or second trimester tended to receive chemotherapy after abortion. All patients diagnosed during the third trimester opted to defer therapy until after delivery. The rate of overall response rate (ORR) was 77.3%, which was found to be similar to that of the general population. A Short delay in initiating anti-leukemia treatment is not associated with a negative impact on prognosis. We conducted a meta-analysis of the literature, and the summary relative complete remission (CR) rate was 76.9% (95%CI 69.1–84.6%) (Random Effects Model I^2 = 66%, p