Successful therapy with whole-lung lavage and autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation for pulmonary alveolar proteinosis complicating acute myelogenous leukemia.

A 43-year-old man with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) was found to be complicated with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP), which was confirmed by biochemical and histological findings. After achievement of complete remission of AML, he underwent whole-lung lavages twice between intensive chemotherapies. Subsequently, he received high-dose chemotherapy and autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT), which was performed safely without any infections. He has been in remission for 25 months after transplant with no recurrence of PAP. Autologous PBSCT in combination with whole-lung lavage may be a promising strategy in the treatment of PAP associated with hematological malignancies. 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.