title: Treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia in patients presenting at Vancouver General Hospital from 1983 to 1992.
abstract: Between 6/83 and 8/92, 23 of 361 patients (6.4%) presenting at Vancouver General Hospital with acute myelogenous leukemia had acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Treatment plan was: 1) induction with high-dose cytosine arabinoside and an intercalator; and 2) consolidation with allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) for those aged < or = 50 years with a sibling donor or repeat of induction for the the others. Complete remission (CR) was achieved in 20 patients (87%). Eleven patients in CR were eligible for allogeneic BMT; 4 were considered unsuitable, 2 refused, and 5 underwent this treatment--1 died of acute graft-versus-host disease, 1 relapsed and 3 are leukemia-free and well 1.6, 3.3 and 3.9 years after diagnosis. Fifteen patients did not undergo allogeneic BMT in CR; 4 received no further treatment and all died, 2 relapsed before consolidation therapy and both died, 1 underwent autologous BMT and died of complications, and 8 received consolidation treatment as planned--1 died of sepsis, 2 relapsed and 5 are leukemia-free and well 1.0, 3.8, 4.5, 4.9 and 8.5 years after diagnosis. The actuarial overall survival for all 23 patients was 38% (95% confidence interval [CI] 18-57%). The actuarial 2-year leukemia-free survival was 60% (95% CI 20-85%) for the 8 patients who underwent consolidation chemotherapy as planned and 53% (95% CI 68-86%) for the 5 patients who underwent allogeneic BMT in CR. These results suggest that patients with APL who are able to undergo consolidation chemotherapy have a relatively good prognosis and allogeneic BMT may reasonably be held in reserve for salvage therapy.
authors.affiliation: Leukemia/Bone Marrow Transplantation Program of British Columbia, Vancouver General Hospital, Canada.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tezcan
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Barnett
authors.forename: C N
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Bredeson
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Reece
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Shepherd
authors.forename: B I
authors.initials: BI
authors.lastname: Dalal
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Horsman
authors.forename: H G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Klingemann
authors.forename: S H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Nantel
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Spinelli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000971:Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016026:Bone Marrow Transplantation; D001955:British Columbia; D003561:Cytarabine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015473:Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy*; D015993:Life Tables; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012074:Remission Induction; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016879:Salvage Therapy; D015996:Survival Rate; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D003561:Cytarabine