THE RESULTS OF TREATMENT OF ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA IN EVERYDAY CLINICAL PRACTICE

Aim: To assess efficacy of the “7 + 3” regimen in non-selective groups of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Materials and methods: We retrospectively assessed medical documentations (inand out-patient case histories) of 105 AML patients who were on treatment in MONIKI from January 2002 to December 2011, with evaluation of clinical and hematological characteristics of patients, remission rates depending on age, serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels and time from diagnosis to the start of treatment, as well as overall survival.
Results: In total, the standard regimen “7 + 3” was effective in 58% of AML patients. Remission was achieved in 70.5% of 17 patients with normal LDH levels and in 50.9% of 53 patients with high LDH levels (р < 0,05). In the patients aged from 18 to 30 years, the remission rate was 81%, in those from 31 to 60 years, in 61%. In the elderly patients (from 60 years and older), remission was achieved in 29% of cases (р < 0.05 compared to each of two other age groups). Remission was associated with the time from diagnosis to the start of treatment, being 16.7% in those where this time period exceeded 10 days and 60.8% in those where this time was less than 10 days (р < 0.05). The median overall survival was 11 months in the total group, 15 months in the patients who achieved remission after 2 treatment cycles and 6 months in those who did not respond to treatment. Comparison of the 2 groups with different AML types did not reveal any difference in the treatment results: overall survival in М0–М2 was 11 months and in М4–М5 10 months.
Conclusion: Treatment of AML patients with “7 + 3” regimen provides a good anti-tumor effect. Achievement of remission depends on patient age, time to the start of treatment and LDH levels. The results obtained in non-selective group of patients are comparable to those published on selected group of patients.