[Progress of chemotherapy in adult acute leukemia]

Due to the advance of chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation (BMT), adult acute leukemia has become a curable disease. Since in BMT a good prognosis is obtained in chemotherapy-induced remission cases, chemotherapy plays a major role for the cure of this disease. In acute myeloid leukemia, the JALSG AML 89 study resulted in a 77% complete remission (CR) rate in 326 adults, 38% of whom had a 4.5-year diseases-free survival (DFS) rate in CR cases. However, the results of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the JALSG ALL 87 study were not satisfactory; 84% CR in 116 adults and only 24% 6-year DFS.