Application of all-trans retinoic acid combining chemotherapy and As4S4 in the maintenance treatment of patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia / 中华血液学杂志

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To compare the efficacy of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) combining chemotherapy and As4S4 with ATRA combining chemotherapy for the maintenance treatment of patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Sixty patients with APL induced to complete remission by ATRA and consolidated by chemotherapy were randomly divided into two groups. Thirty patients as As4S4 group received ATRA + As4S4 + chemotherapy, and another thirty patients as non-As4S4 group were treated only with ATRA + chemotherapy as maintenance therapy. The therapeutic effects, side effects and PML-RARalpha gene expression were analyzed.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The three-year continuous complete remission (CCR) rate was 90.0% for As4S4 group and 61.1% for non-As4S4 group, the difference being statistically significant. Significant difference was also found in the positive rate of PML-RARalpha fusion gene between the two groups. The side effects were mild.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>APL patients in maintenance therapy with ATRA + 6-MP + MTX + As4S4 can obtain a higher CCR.</p>