[Evaluation of chemotherapy of hematological malignancies]

Criteria for the evaluation of chemotherapy for acute leukemia, chronic leukemia, Myelodysplastic syndrome and polycythemia vera were discussed. In leukemia patients the changes in the number of leukemic and normal cells are easily quantitatively evaluated. The criteria depends on the reduction and recovery of leukemic cells and normal cells. In acute leukemia because considerable parts of complete remissions ended with relapse, the evaluation seems necessarily to differentiate good remission from standard remission. For such purpose 5,000 leukocyte differential seemed effective. In the phase II study of anti-leukemia drugs, however, it seemed necessary to find efficacy less than remission, to avoid underestimation of drug efficacy because pretreated patients are usually studied in the phase II study. In the evaluation of chronic myelogenous leukemia, chronic myelomonocytic leukemia or polycythemia vera, short term judgment needs to be further studied about the correlation with longterm efficacy such as survival. The treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome is very hard to evaluate, reduction of blasts and increase of normal cells may be necessary for the improvement of symptoms. The relation of the efficacy and survival seemed necessary to be studied.