[Recent progress in the treatment of adult acute leukemia]

Due to the advance of chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation, adult acute leukemia has become a curable disease. In acute myeloid leukemia, the JALSG AML89 study resulted in 77% complete remission (CR) rate in 326 adults and 38% 4.5-year disease-free survival (DFS) in CR cases. However, the result of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the JALSG ALL87 study is not satisfactory; 84% CR in 116 adults and only 24% 6-year DFS. For acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), all-trans retinoic acid works remarkably, and the JALSG AML92 study for newly diagnosed APL resulted in 89% CR in 109 adults and 81% 2.5-year DFS.