Treatment of acute non-lymphocytic leukemia in Saitama Cancer Center

Forty patients with previously untreated acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL) were treated at Saitama Cancer Center between February 1979 and November 1983. Their median age was 43 years (range: 14 to 68 years), 13 patients (32.5%) being 55 years old or older. Twenty-three patients had Auer bodies. Complete remission was achieved in 75.0% of the patients (30/40) with the first line therapy, and in 6 of 7 patients in the second line therapy. Thus, the overall remission rate was 90.0%. The median duration of remission was 14 months and 39% of the patients showed no relapse within 3 years. The median survival for all patients was 26 months and the actuarial 3-year survival rate was 41%. The better results in this series were thought to be due to intensive post-induction reinforcement therapy.