Acute promyelocytic leukemia: a model of molecular target based therapy.
Leukemia, a group of hematological malignancies characterized by clonal expansion of hematopoietic cells with uncontrolled proliferation, decreased apoptosis and blocked differentiation, is one of the most notorious enemies of mankind which accounts for some 300,000 new cases and 222,000 deaths each year worldwide. Leukemia can be divided into acute or chronic, lymphoid or myeloid types, based on the disease progression and hematopoietic lineages involved 5. The responses of leukemia to therapies differ from one type or subtype to another. Hence, to improve the clinical outcome, the therapeutic strategies should be disease pathogenesis-based and individualized. The close collaboration between bench and bedside may not only shed new lights on leukemogenesis, gain insights into therapeutic mechanisms, but also provide opportunities for designing more rational therapies. The development of curative approaches for acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) may serve as a paradigm.
Zhou
Guang-Biao
GB
Shanghai Institute of Hematology, Rui Jin Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Second Medical University 197, Rui Jin Road II, Shanghai, 200025, China.
Chen
Sai-Juan
SJ
Chen
Zhu
Z
D000077237:Arsenic Trioxide; D001152:Arsenicals / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D016503:Drug Delivery Systems; D004357:Drug Synergism; D006801:Humans; D015473:Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D010087:Oxides / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000627:therapeutic use
D001152:Arsenicals; D010087:Oxides; D014212:Tretinoin; D000077237:Arsenic Trioxide