title: Chemotherapy of acute leukemia in adults.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  General therapeutic options for adult patients with acute leukemia are reviewed and specific new treatment strategies are described.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Treatment results and controversial issues on current and future antileukemic strategies are discussed.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data in this review came from the published literature.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the past years, striking new developments have been noticeable in the treatment of adult acute leukemia. However, the overall outcome of adult acute leukemia remains poor, particularly in older patients. Intensive chemotherapy remains the standard for leukemia treatment but several approaches using new cytotoxic agents seem promising. Therapeutic targeting of specific biologic abnormalities present in the leukemia cell population might, in a near future, improve outcome of adult leukemia patients.
authors.affiliation: Hôpital Edouard Herriot, Service d'Hématologie, Leukemia Unit, Department of Hematology, 69437 Lyon Cedex 03, France. xavier.thomas@chu-lyon.fr
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Thomas
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics; D054198:Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000235:genetics; D012074:Remission Induction
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents