[Acute leukemia in the elderly--a death sentence?]

Elderly patients with acute leukemia are considered poor candidates for aggressive antileukemic combination chemotherapy, and are therefore regarded by many clinicians as hopeless. Are such cases really hopeless? Although mild chemotherapy with low-dose cytosine-arabinoside (LDAC) has been recognized as beneficial for more than a decade, it is not often used in the elderly. 2 cases of leukemia which developed after a myeloblastic syndrome in men aged 71 and 84 years, respectively, are described. Both achieved complete remission for 18 and 13 months, respectively, following a course of LDAC. The literature also reveals that some elderly leukemic patients may benefit from this relatively nontoxic therapy.