Adult acute myeloblastic leukemia: Experience at King Khalid University Hospital

The clinical features of acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) and its response to therapy in adult patients in Saudi Arabia are not well defined, as only scanty data has been available. This situation will likely continue unless experience with AML is reported from different institutions in the Kingdom.

In this retrospective study, the records of 52 adult patients with previously untreated de novo acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) who were treated at King Khalid University Hospital over a five-year period from January 1989 to December 1993 according to the conventional â3+7â regimen were reviewed. The clinical features of the disease, response to therapy and treatment-related complications were identified.

There were 33 males and 19 females with a mean age of 30+/-13 years (mean+/-SD). M 4 and M 5 AML were the predominant French-American-British (FAB) subtypes encountered. Sixty-five percent of patients achieved complete remission (CR). The median duration of the first CR of all analyzable patients was 32 weeks. The median CR duration and survival of patients achieving complete remission who survived through their consolidation treatment was 36 and 49 weeks, respectively.

Both median duration of the first complete remission and survival compare unfavorably with those reported in the literature despite a comparable remission rate. Infectious complications were frequent and accounted for a significant number of mortalities.