COMPARISON OF CLINICAL OBSERVATIONS BETWEEN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE PROMYELOCYTIC LEUKEMIA TREATED WITH ALL-TRANS RETINOIC ACID AND CHEMOTHERAPY

Clinical observations were retrospectively compared between 2 matched groups of patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) each 20. The first group were treated with chemotherapy, the other with all-tram retinoic acid (ATRA) alone at a dose of 45-60mg/M~2/d. The complete remission (CR) rate of ATRA group was significantly higher than that of chemotherapy (90% vs 55%). The time for obtaining CR as well as the duration of fever and hospitalization were shorter and the amount of blood transfused was less in the former than in the latter group. Seven cases were complicated by DIC and 4 died in the group of chemotherapy, while no case was by of DIC or death in the ATRA group. The mechanism was discussed. ATRA is an alternative effective drug for remission induction therapy in APL with high rate of CR.