Post-Remission Treatment of Acute Myelogenous Leukemia

Abstract

Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is characterized by both an increase in the number of white cells and arrest of their normal maturation and function, which causes anemia, granulocytopenia, and thrombocytopenia. The goal of treatment is to eliminate all neoplastic hematopoietic cells in the marrow, peripheral blood, and elsewhere. This goal can be accomplished in some but not all adult patients with AML through the use of two distinct, consecutive phases of treatment. The combination chemotherapy administered during the first phase in a patient with newly diagnosed AML is intended to induce a complete remission, a condition in which leukemic cells can no longer be identified by cytologic, immunologic, or cytogenetic methods and the patient's peripheral-blood counts have become normal. The second phase of treatment (post-remission treatment) is designed to eradicate any residual leukemic cells anywhere. Thus, post-remission treatment should prevent relapse and improve survival. The development of better post-remission therapies in recent years has received much attention