All-trans retinoic acid/As2O3 combination yields a high quality remission and survival in newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia.

ABSTRACT: Both all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (As(2)O(3)) have proven to be very effective in obtaining high clinical complete remission (CR) rates in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), but they had not been used jointly in an integrated treatment protocol for remission induction or maintenance among newly diagnosed APL patients. In this study, 61 newly diagnosed APL subjects were randomized into three treatment groups, namely by ATRA, As(2)O(3), and the combination of the two drugs. CR was determined by hematological analysis, tumor burden was examined with real-time quantitative RT-PCR of the PML-RAR alpha (promyelocytic leukemia-retinoic acid receptor alpha) fusion transcripts, and side effects were evaluated by means of clinical examinations. Mechanisms possibly involved we

SUBMITTER: Shen ZX 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC397380 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature