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Stalin Chowdary BalaIntroduction Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) has transformed from a highly fatal disease to a highly curable one. Induction deaths continue to represent one of the major impediments in modern therapy of APL. Sepsis, hemorrhage, and differentiation syndrome are the major complications during induction therapy in APL. The present study reports the incidence and prognostic factors of major complications during induction chemotherapy in patients with newly diagnosed APL. Materials and Methods The present study was a single institutional, observational, retrospective study. All cases of APL diagnosed by morphology and confirmed by RT PCR (PML RARα) were included in this study. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. Results A total of 73 patients were analyzed. The median age at presentation was 30 years (range, 3-60 years) with a female to male ratio of 1.02:1. The most common symptom at presentation was fever (80%), followed by fatigue (56%) and gum bleeding (37%). The majority of the patients at presentation were high risk (42.4%), followed by intermediate risk (38.4%) and low risk (19.2%). Fifty-seven (78%) patients achieved complete hematological remission and 16 (22%) succumbed during induction chemotherapy. Infection was the most common cause of induction death (50%), followed by hemorrhage (37.5%) and differentiation syndrome (12.5%). On univariate analysis of prognostic factors, bcr3 variant, grade 3/4 bleeding during induction, and low levels of albumin at presentation were significant for induction mortality ( p = 0.034, 0.041, and 0.008 respectively). On multivariate analysis, only serum albumin < 3.5 g/dL was an independent predictor for induction mortality ( p = 0.043). Conclusion The majority of patients were high risk at presentation. Sepsis was the most common complication during induction and also the leading cause of induction death. Identifying induction complications at the earliest and providing aggressive supportive measures can further improve outcomes in APL.
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INTRODUCTION: Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer among the women. Most commonly used chemotherapy regimen is Doxorubicin and Cyclophosphamide (AC) which carries significant risk of febrile neutropenia. The aim of the study is to identify the incidence of febrile neutropenia and its effects on the delivery of chemotherapy in patients receiving following AC chemoregimen without primary prophylaxis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the case records of the localized breast cancer patients who were treated with AC chemoregimen without primary prophylaxis for febrile neutropenia. RESULTS: Between 2013 and 2017, a total of 231 cases received AC chemoregimen. A total of 14 (6.1%) patients were found to have febrile neutropenia. All patients were recovered by day 19 and no deaths were observed. Except for ECOG performance status (P = 0.001) no significant association was found with age, co-morbidities, menopausal status, body surface area and stage of the cancer. There were no treatment delays or dose reductions because of febrile neutropenia. CONCLUSION: The incidence of FN with AC chemotherapy in breast cancer patients is relatively less in the present study. Routine primary prophylaxis is not recommended as this chemotherapy falls in to low risk category for FN but can be considered for patients with ECOG PS > 1. If the diagnosis of febrile neutropenia and institution of appropriate measures are prompt, FN did not affect the delivery of chemotherapy and thus compromise survival.
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BACKGROUND: Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), a distinct variant of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), accounts for 10% of AML cases. Over the past decade, APL has emerged from a highly fatal disease to a highly curable one. The published data on outcomes of APL from India are scant. The present study was designed to analyze the clinicopathologic features and outcomes in adult APL. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The present report is a single institutional, observational, retrospective study, and data of patients diagnosed with APL from 2006 to 2018 were analyzed. All patients with APL, diagnosed by morphology and confirmed by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (promyelocytic leukemia/retinoic acid receptor alpha) and over 18 years of age, were included in this study. SPSS software v25.1 was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 1396 patients with AML were seen between January 2005 and June 2018, of which 190 (13.6%) had APL. Of these, 111 patients met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed. The median age at presentation was 33 years (range, 19-60 years). The median duration of symptoms before presentation was 15 days (range, 3-180 days). High risk, intermediate risk, and low risk were seen in 43.3%, 41.4%, and 15.3% of patients, respectively. At the end of induction chemotherapy, 88 (79%) patients achieved complete hematologic remission, and 23 (21%) succumbed during induction. The median time to attain complete hematologic remission was 30 days (range, 19-47 days). At a median follow-up of 34 months, the event-free survival and overall survival were 69.3% and 74.7%, respectively. On univariate analysis, bcr3 variant and high-risk category at presentation had significant impact on event-free survival (P = .029 and P = .003, respectively) and overall survival (P ≤ .001 and P = .007, respectively). On multivariate analysis, only high risk at presentation was significant for event-free survival (P = .04) and overall survival (P = .02). CONCLUSION: APL constituted one-tenth of patients with AML. The majority of patients were high risk at presentation. Sanz high risk category and bcr3 variant at presentation had significant impact on outcomes in APL.
