Seventeen years of experience with ATRA-based therapy for acute promyelocytic leukaemia: long-term follow-up of patients treated at S. Martino Hospital, Genoa.
We conducted a long-term follow-up retrospective study on 91 consecutive newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) patients. Induction and consolidation therapy were well-tolerated by most patients. Of the 79 patients who were initially treated with the all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA)-containing regimens, there were 3 haemorrhagic deaths during the first period of therapy (4%) and one in consolidation which was due to infection. Following consolidation, molecular assessment of response was performed on 67 patients, and 66 were found to have achieved cytogenetic and molecular remission (98%). After a median follow-up of 100 months (12-192), 10 of the 75 patients who achieved complete remission (13%) relapsed. Seventy-eight percent of the patients were expected to be alive at 14 years from diagnosis, i.e., 90 and 48% of patients of intermediate-low risk and high risk at presentation, respectively (p=0.0009). Sixty-nine patients were in molecular remission after first-line and/or salvage therapy (74%). To date, 4 patients out of the 91 have undergone salvage allogeneic transplant (4%).
Clavio
Marino
M
Department of Haematology, University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy. claviom@unige.it
Ghiso
Anna
A
Ghiggi
Chiara
C
Spriano
Mauro
M
Colombo
Nicoletta
N
Grasso
Raffaella
R
Varaldo
Riccardo
R
Miglino
Maurizio
M
Pierri
Ivana
I
Olcese
Francesca
F
Aquino
Sara
S
Biasco
Samantha
S
Balleari
Enrico
E
Carella
Angelo Michele
AM
Sessarego
Mario
M
Gobbi
Marco
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015473:Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D014212:Tretinoin