Treatment of "poor risk" acute nonlymphocytic leukemia with continuously infused low-dose cytosine arabinoside.
There is currently little experience using a continuous intravenous infusion of low-dose cytosine arabinoside (LDARA-C) in the treatment of acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL). We report the results in 12 patients with ANLL described as either relapsed ANLL, ANLL with a preceding myelodysplastic phase, or ANLL in the elderly treated with 14 days of continuous intravenous LDARA-C (20 mg/m2/day). Complete responses (CR) were seen in five patients (42%) and partial responses (PR) in three patients (25%). Treatment resulted in overall and clonal cytoreduction, which was evident by serial bone marrow exams and bone marrow cytogenetic analysis. The ability to obtain a CR correlated with the finding of a low initial marrow cellularity (P less than .05). This study finds that continuous intravenous infusion of LDARA-C for ANLL can achieve response rates comparable to standard induction programs in a subset of patients traditionally defined as having a poor prognosis.
Balaban
E P
EP
Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas 75235.
Cox
J V
JV
Schneider
N R
NR
Harth
C A
CA
Haley
B B
BB
Sheehan
R
R
Frenkel
E P
EP
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000473:pathology; D002452:Cell Count; D003561:Cytarabine / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D007621:Karyotyping; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence; D012074:Remission Induction
D003561:Cytarabine