title: A prospective trial of the treatment of acute megakaryoblastic leukaemia.
abstract: Acute megakaryoblastic leukaemia, the M-7 variant of acute leukaemia according to the French-American-British (FAB) co-operative group, comprises 8.4% of all cases of acute leukaemia in the city of Puebla, Mexico. The malignancy can be identified by means of monoclonal antibodies or electron microscopy. Using two monoclonal antibodies, Hp1-1d that binds the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa complex (CDw 41) and W1-23 that recognizes the factor VIII:von Willebrand fraction, we have found 19 cases of M-7 leukaemia. Fourteen of these were entered in a prospective therapeutic trial, seven were treated with low-dose (LD) Ara-C (10 mg/m2, delivered subcutaneously every 12 h in 21-day courses). The median age was 14 years, four were female and three male. The remaining seven patients were treated with HOP (adriamycin 25 mg/m2 + vincristine 1.4 mg/m2 orally, daily, for the same period. The median age was 20 years, three were females and four males. Patients were followed for periods of 1-24 months. Six of seven patients in each group achieved remission; however, 18-month disease-free survival was 14% for the LD Ara-C group and 42% for the HOP-treated group. All patients in the LD Ara-C group were dead at 24 months; three patients in the HOP group survived at 12, 14 and 18 months. Differences between these two groups are probably not significant due to the small number of patients involved.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorios Clínicos de Puebla, Mexico.
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Ruiz-Argüelles
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marín-López
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Ruiz-González
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pérez-Romano
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000032:analysis; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D003561:Cytarabine / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004317:Doxorubicin; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D007947:Leukemia, Megakaryoblastic, Acute / Q000145:classification / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010641:Phenotype; D011241:Prednisone; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012074:Remission Induction; D014750:Vincristine
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm; D003561:Cytarabine; D014750:Vincristine; D004317:Doxorubicin; D003520:Cyclophosphamide; D011241:Prednisone