Salvage treatment for refractory or relapsed acute myeloid leukemia: a 10-year single-center experience

OBJECTIVES: The outcomes of refractory and relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients in developing countries are underreported, even though the similar classic regimens are widely used. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective comparison of "MEC" (mitoxantrone, etoposide, and cytarabine) and "FLAG-IDA" (fludarabine, cytarabine, idarubicin, and filgrastim) in adults with first relapse or refractory AML. RESULTS: In total, 60 patients were included, of which 28 patients received MEC and 32 received FLAG-IDA. A complete response (CR) rate of 48.3% was observed. Of the included patients, 16 (27%) died before undergoing bone marrow assessment. No statiscally significant difference in CR rate was found between the two protocols (p=0.447). The median survival in the total cohort was 4 months, with a 3-year overall survival (OS) rate of 9.7%. In a multivariable model including age, fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) status, and stem-cell transplantation (SCT), only the last two indicators remained significant: FLT3-ITD mutation (hazard ratio [HR]=4.6, p<0.001) and SCT (HR=0.43, p=0.01). CONCLUSION: In our analysis, there were no significant differences between the chosen regimens. High rates of early toxicity were found, emphasizing the role of supportive care and judicious selection of patients who are eligible for intensive salvage therapy in this setting. The FLT3-ITD mutation and SCT remained significant factors for survival in our study, in line with the results of previous studies.

Efficacy and prognostic analysis of ICE regimen for 84 patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma / 上海交通大学学报（医学版）

Objective · To evaluate the efficacy and prognostic factors of ifosfamide-cisplatin-etoposide (ICE) chemotherapy as salvage regimen for patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).Methods · A retrospective analysis was performed on 84 relapsed/refractory DLBCL patients who were treated with ICE salvage regimen at Ruijin Hospital (Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine,China) from July 2004 to June 2016.Overall survival (OS) was analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method and multivariate Cox proportional hazards models.Results· Of the 84 patients who were treated with ICE regimen,37 (44.0％) patients had responses,including 26 (31.0％) achieving complete remission.The median number of cycles per patient was 3 (range 1-6 cycles).The 1-year and 2-year OS rates were 49.5％ and 30.0％,respectively.The median OS time was 12.2 months.On univariate analysis,patients with early progression/recurrence (P=0.041) and a high-intermediate/high risk according to the international prognostic index (IPI) (P=0.024) and NCCN-IPI (P=0.002) had poorer outcomes.While improved outcome was found in patients in complete remission after chemotherapy (P=0.000).The multivariate analysis revealed that the intermediate-high/high risk according to NCCN-IPI was an independent risk factor,and remission after chemotherapy was an independent prognostic factor for prolonging survival.Conclusion· The ICE regimen can be used as an effective salvage therapy for patients with relapsed/refractory DLBCL.