title: Triple combination of retinoic acid, low concentration of cytarabine and dimethylformamide induces differentiation of human acute myeloid leukaemic blasts.
abstract: Differentiation induction therapy provides an alternative for treatment of patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) who are either unsuitable for or unresponsive to conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy. The effect of a triple combination of retinoic acid (RA) + low concentration of cytarabine (Ara-C) + dimethylformamide (DMF) on the differentiation of blasts from 24 AML patients was studied. Nonadherent mononuclear cells were cultured at a concentration of 5 x 10(5) cells/ml in 24-well tissue culture plates containing RPMI 1640 culture medium with 20% fetal calf serum, 10% autologous serum and 10% 5637-conditioned medium and incubated with 10(-6) M RA, 10(-6) M Ara-C and/or 100 mM DMF alone and in combination with each other for 6 days in primary culture at 37 degrees C in a humidified incubator under 5% CO2. The triple combination of 10(-6) M RA + 10(-6) M Ara-C + 100 mM DMF induced 90% of blasts from 22 out of 24 AML patients to differentiate. These highly effective results justify a clinical trial of this triple combination for AML patients who are either unsuitable for or unresponsive to conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Haematological Medicine, University of Cambridge Clinical School, UK.
authors.forename: H T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Hassan
authors.forename: J K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Rees
mesh_terms: D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000187:drug effects; D003561:Cytarabine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004126:Dimethylformamide / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000188:drug therapy*; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D003561:Cytarabine; D014212:Tretinoin; D004126:Dimethylformamide