Autologous bone marrow transplantation in acute myeloid leukemia in relapse or in complete remission

We report ten cases of acute myeloid leukemia treated by intensive therapy followed by autologous bone marrow transplantation. Seven patients were in first relapse, and three were in complete remission. The conditioning regimen consisted of either chemotherapy alone (6-thioguanine, cytarabine, lomustine, and cyclophosphamide [TACC; eight patients]) or cyclophosphamide and total-body irradiation (two patients). All the patients in first relapse achieved complete remission (CR). The median remission duration was 9.9 months (range, 5-14), and the median survival was 14.4 months (range, 9-23.8). Of the three patients autografted during CR, one relapsed at Month 5 and two others remain in CR and are well at 18+ and 18.3+ months. High-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous bone marrow transplantation seems to be a valuable treatment for acute myeloid leukemia, if it is used immediately after the CR to consolidate the remission.