Long-term results of two Swiss AML studies

The Swiss group for clinical cancer research (SAKK) completed two first line protocols for the treatment of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). In the first protocol (SAKK AML 74, from August 1974 to April 1977; 107 patients) the effectiveness of immunization with viral oncolysate during maintenance treatment was tested. After successful induction treatment, the patients were randomized in two groups: Group A: monthly maintenance chemotherapy for 2 years and group A+IT, which received the same maintenance chemotherapy regimen plus, on day 15, injection of viral oncolysate. Of the 107 patients, 57 (53%) achieved complete remission, 29 then being randomized to group A, 28 to group A+IT. As of August 1984, there is no statistical difference between the survival times of the two groups (p = 0.288). Ten years after the start of the study there is still no clear plateau of the survival curve. Nine percent of all patients (18% of the remission patients) are alive today. With the treatment of the mid-seventies, therefore, the cure of a patient suffering from AML was a rare event. The second protocol (SAKK AML 77, from April 1977 to April 1982; 162 patients) was designed to evaluate the usefulness of a prolonged maintenance treatment after early consolidation. The 74 patients who were still in remission after early consolidation treatment were assigned to either maintenance chemotherapy or to observation only. At 3.5 years after the last patient's entry there was no difference between the groups in duration of survival (p = 0.332).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)