This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Consolidation with arsenic trioxide averted maintenance therapy in APL
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Treatment with arsenic trioxide during consolidation may obviate the need for maintenance therapy in patients with previously untreated low- and intermediate-risk acute promyelocytic leukemia, according to study results.
In a noninferiority trial, researchers evaluated 105 patients aged 18 years or older with recently diagnosed low- or intermediate-risk acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). The patients underwent a first-line treatment regimen consisting of a standard induction, and a consolidation regimen that included arsenic trioxide (ATO).
Post-consolidation, 68 patients who were negative for PML-RARA translocation via polymerase chain reaction were randomly assigned to 1 year of maintenance with tretinoin, mercaptopurine and methotrexate, or observation. Enrollment in the study was discontinued early due to slow amassing of participants.
At a median follow-up of 36.1 months, the OS rate for all 105 patients was 93%. Researchers reported no relapses in patients randomly assigned to maintenance treatment or observation.
The findings suggest that consolidation treatment with ATO may be useful in maintaining long-term curative benefits in patients with low- and intermediate-risk APL, according to researchers.
“These results demonstrate that cures can be expected in more than 90% of patients with low- and intermediate-risk APL, and suggest that maintenance therapy may not be needed if patients are treated with an intensive post-remission regimen including ATO,” the researchers wrote.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts