Novel strategies in treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia.

Abstract

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a subtype of acute myeloid leukemia characterized by t(15;17) and a life-threatening coagulopathy. Once highly fatal, nowadays standard treatment approaches with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) along with chemotherapy allows curing up to 80-85% of cases. In the past decade, arsenic trioxide used alone or in combination with ATRA has demonstrated high efficacy in APL, and is currently regarded as the gold standard for treatment of relapsed cases. Chemotherapy-free approaches based on the combination of arsenic trioxide and ATRA are currently being tested against standard ATRA and chemotherapy in randomized clinical trials for frontline therapy of APL.