Acute monocytic leukemia in children and its response to vinblastine (NSC-49842)

Seventeen children with acute monocytic leukemia were treated with (a) vinblatine (with or without prednisone), 0.2 mg/kg of body weight twice a week (13 patients); (b) 6-mercaptopurine plus prednisone patient). Four patients died within the 1st week, before having an adequate chemotherapeutic trial, and a fifth patient died of spesis at 12 days. Five patients achieved complete remissions and two achieved in this study was 41%. For the 13 patients who survived more than 1 week, the remission rate was 53.8%. Remission occurred with vinblastine inall but one patient. Of the ten patients who recieved more than one dose of vinblastine, 60% achieved a remission, indicating that vinblastine is an active agent in this rare form of leukemia.