[Combination chemotherapy in acute blast crisis of chronic myeloid leukaemia (author's transl)]

Sixteen patients in an acute blast crisis of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) were treated with a combination of vincristine, 6-mercaptopurine, hydroxyurea and prednisone. Only two of these patients had complete remission on this treatment, while four had partial remission. This experience, comparable to that reported by others, suggests that aggressive treatment in the terminal phase of CML is justified only as part of a prospective and well-controlled study.