Interleukin-2 receptor targeted therapy of ocular disease of HTLV-1-associated adult T-cell leukemia

Purpose: To report two cases of patients with ocular manifestations of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) associated adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) who were successfully treated with interleukin-2 receptor targeted therapies. Method: Case series. Results: Two patients with HTLV-1-associated ATL developed symptomatic scleritis. In the first case, conjunctival biopsy showed leukemic infiltration that was confirmed by T-cell receptor polymerase chain reaction (PCR) demonstrating a clonal rearrangement. As treatment for ATL, both cases received interleukin-2 receptor targeted therapy. In one patient, daclizumab, a monoclonal antibody directed against the alpha chain of the interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptor, was used. The second patient was treated with denileukin diftitox, an immunotoxin fusion protein that targets the IL-2 receptor. Improvement in scleritis was noted in both patients. Conclusion: Scleritis in patients with underlying HTLV-1-associated ATL is responsive to IL-2 receptor targeted therapies.