成人急性白血病强化治疗67例预后分析

目的：观察成人急性白血病（ＡＬ） 患者完全缓解（ＣＲ） 后强化治疗的效果。方法：对６７ 例ＣＲ后的成人ＡＬ患者进行强化治疗,急性髓细胞性白血病（ＡＭＬ）以中剂量阿糖胞苷（ＩＤ－ Ａｒａ－ Ｃ）方案为主,急性淋巴细胞性白血病（ＡＬＬ）以中剂量氨甲蝶呤（ＩＤ－ ＭＴＸ）方案为主。结果：４８ 例ＡＭＬ患者中位ＣＲ 期１６ 个月,预期３ 年和４ 年无病生存（ＤＦＳ）为３６９％ 和２１１ ％ ;２３ 例（４７９ ％） 患者复发。１９ 例ＡＬＬ 患者中位ＣＲ 期１４ 个月,预期４ 年ＤＦＳ 为３１５％ ;１０ 例（５２６％ ） 患者复发。结论：以ＩＤ－ Ａｒａ－ Ｃ 为主的强化方案及以ＩＤ－ ＭＴＸ 为主的强化方案分别能延长ＡＭＬ及ＡＬＬ患者的ＤＦＳ,降低复发率     

Management of adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia: moving toward a risk-adapted approach

The vast majority of adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) now achieve remission with current intensive chemotherapy regimens. Nevertheless, most adults with ALL will eventually relapse and die of their disease. Specific clinical and molecular-cytogenetic prognostic factors have been identified that are beginning to provide insights for the development of risk-adapted management strategies that appear to improve survival for several high-risk patient groups, including those with mature B-cell ALL and B-lineage ALL patients with a Philadelphia chromosome. We review standard and some recently described prognostic factors in adult ALL, describe current therapy based on a risk-adapted approach, and look toward the future with a brief discussion of novel, targeted treatments that could be incorporated into postremission strategies to improve survival for adults with ALL.     

SOHO State of the Art Updates and Next Questions |The Role of Maintenance Therapy in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive disease predominantly affecting the elderly population. Although, up to 65% of patients with AML achieve a complete remission with standard induction chemotherapy, the majority of patients will relapse and succumb to the disease. Although maintenance therapy is a component of standard management for various hematological malignancies, such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) or multiple myeloma, past studies investigating the role of maintenance therapy in AML were unable to demonstrate an advantage in overall survival, and therefore, it has not been an established practice in the treatment of AML. For patients, who are not candidates for stem cell transplant, effective AML maintenance therapies are needed in order to reduce the risk of relapse. Over the past decades, many investigators have examined the role of various maintenance strategies in AML; with the intention to prolong remission and overall survival. This review will provide an overview of prior and ongoing approaches and strategies to maintenance therapy for AML.     

Chemotherapy for patients with acute myeloid leukemia in first remission

Although the majority of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) achieve a complete remission with induction chemotherapy, most will ultimately relapse. Therefore, the optimal postremission therapy for AML remains to be defined, and further improvements in treatment strategies are required. Clinical trials have demonstrated that early intensive consolidation therapy with high-dose cytarabine can produce prolonged responses in up to 40% of patients in remission after standard induction therapy. Equally, however, it has been shown that high-dose cytarabine used in induction therapy can deliver equivalent long-term results. Autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplantation in first remission are also valid alternatives, but the value of low-dose maintenance treatment seems confined to acute promyelocytic leukemia. Further improvement in the treatment of AML is likely to depend on the development of new strategies, such as molecularly targeted or immune therapies.     

Individual patient data-based meta-analysis of patients aged 16 to 60 years with core binding factor acute myeloid leukemia: a survey of the German Acute Myeloid Leukemia Intergroup.

PURPOSE: To evaluate prognostic factors for relapse-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS) and to assess the impact of different postremission therapies in adult patients with core binding factor (CBF) acute myeloid leukemias (AML). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Individual patient data-based meta-analysis was performed on 392 adults (median age, 42 years; range, 16 to 60 years) with CBF AML (t(8;21), n = 191; inv(16), n = 201) treated between 1993 and 2002 in prospective German AML treatment trials. RESULTS: RFS was 60% and 58% and OS was 65% and 74% in the t(8;21) and inv(16) groups after 3 years, respectively. For postremission therapy, intention-to-treat analysis revealed no difference between intensive chemotherapy and autologous transplantation in the t(8;21) group and between chemotherapy, autologous, and allogeneic transplantation in the inv(16) group. In the t(8;21) group, significant prognostic variables for longer RFS and OS were lower WBC and higher platelet counts; loss of the Y chromosome in male patients was prognostic for shorter OS. In the inv(16) group, trisomy 22 was a significant prognostic variable for longer RFS. For patients who experienced relapse, second complete remission rate was significantly lower in patients with t(8;21), resulting in a significantly inferior survival duration after relapse compared with patients with inv(16). CONCLUSION: We provide novel prognostic factors for CBF AML and show that patients with t(8;21) who experience relapse have an inferior survival duration.     

A comparison of marrow transplantation with chemotherapy for adults with acute leukemia of poor prognosis in first complete remission

From July 1980 to November 1985, 109 patients with acute myelogenous and lymphoblastic leukemia who had reached a complete remission (CR) following induction treatment were assigned to a study comparing marrow transplantation with chemotherapy as a postremission treatment. Sixty-nine patients did not have a human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-identical donor, and therefore served as chemotherapy controls; 40 patients had HLA-identical donors, and therefore were assigned to the transplant arm. Of these, 23 were transplanted in first remission and 17 were not. Ten of these 17 were subsequently transplanted in relapse. Initially, only patients with poor prognosis determined by a predictive model were entered into the study. Subsequently, patients with moderately poor prognosis were admitted. Comparing the chemotherapy group with the patients transplanted in first CR, significant control of leukemia relapse in transplanted patients was seen in the subgroup with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) (P less than .1), and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (P less than .01), in the poor (P = .01) and intermediate subgroup (P = .01), and in the good-prognostic groups (P = .05). The survival was affected significantly in only the poor and intermediate subgroups. The use of predictive models might help to select patients for whom bone marrow transplantation is appropriate in first remission and those for whom bone marrow transplantation can be left as the initial treatment of relapse. Predictive models could further be helpful in comparing studies performed at different transplant centers.     

Postremission chemotherapy for adults with acute myelogenous leukemia: improved survival with high-dose cytarabine and daunorubicin consolidation treatment.

Results of postremission chemotherapy for adults with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) were assessed in two sequential prospective studies involving similar induction therapy and two courses of intensive consolidation treatment. Fifty-six patients achieving remission on the acute leukemia protocol (ALP3) study received high-dose cytarabine and daunorubicin as course one and standard-dose cytarabine and daunorubicin as course two. Results are compared with forty-six patients achieving remission on the ALP2 study who received azacitidine and doxorubicin as consolidation course one and standard-dose cytarabine, daunorubicin, and thioguanine as course two. The ALP3 regimen resulted in a significantly improved 5-year disease-free survival of 32% +/- 19% versus 20% +/- 11% for the ALP2 study (P = .03). Survival from remission was also improved, 40% +/- 14% versus 24% +/- 12% (P less than .01). Favorable prognostic factors for disease-free survival included receiving the ALP3 treatment regimen, absence of a prior preleukemic syndrome, and female sex. These factors and younger patient age were significant for survival following first chemotherapy and survival after achieving remission. Six of 34 patients who relapsed after receiving the ALP3 regimen successfully achieved prolonged second remissions with high-dose cytarabine-based chemotherapy and/or allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Overall survival for adults less than or equal to 45 years of age was 58% +/- 19% with the ALP3 postremission chemotherapy regimen, comparable to most studies of BMT for AML in first remission. Actuarial 5-year survival for ALP3 patients greater than 60 years of age was 18% +/- 20% with no improvement compared with ALP2.     

Treatment of adult patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia

In the pre-imatinib era, treatment outcomes of adult patients with Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were dismal. Despite the use of intensive chemotherapy and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), complete remission and overall survival rates were less than 70% and 20%, respectively. However, imatinib, in combination with conventional chemotherapy, has dramatically changed outcomes, producing approximately 95% complete remission and 50% overall survival with or without allogeneic HSCT. Current research is now focusing on how to prevent relapse. Improvement of postremission therapy is indispensable. Although allogeneic HSCT during first complete remission is still the first choice for feasible patients, post-HSCT imatinib therapy and imatinib plus chemotherapy combinations should also be studied. New BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitors are expected to improve outcomes in imatinib-resistant leukemia. Our hope is that, in the near future, Ph-positive ALL will become a leukemia in which allogeneic HSCT is offered only for relapsed or refractory cases.     

Assessment of coagulation disorders in patients with acute leukemia before and after cytostatic treatment

Coagulation disorders are often the reason for fatal bleeding in acute promyelocytic leukemia. Their occurrence as well as pathogenesis and prognostic significance in other subtypes of acute myelogenous leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia is less known. Tests were carried out in 70 patients including 49 with AML and 21 with ALL. In all patients thrombin-antithrombin complexes (TAT), D-dimer (DD) and plasmin-antiplasmin complexes (PAP), antithrombin III activity, fibrinogen/fibrin degradation products, APTT and PT were determined. The tests were performed on diagnosis and after cytostatic treatment. The level of TAT, DD and PAP was elevated in 83% of the patients on diagnosis and in 90% after treatment. The highest values were observed in AML M3 patients. Among leukemic patients with normal levels of TAT, DD and PAP at diagnosis, cytostatic treatment had a negligible effect on the level of these markers. During remission the levels of these markers returned to the normal values while in patients without remission they were either elevated or returned to normal values. No correlation between the levels of activation markers and remission rate was reported. DIC was diagnosed in 13 patients including three after chemotherapy. The DIC was acute or subacute in AML and chronic in ALL patients. In the majority of acute leukemia patients there were already changes on diagnosis indicating coagulation activation. Except for AML M3, these usually had a subclinical course. The TAT, DD and PAP tests are not reliable markers of remission in acute leukemias.     

Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Adults

The majority of adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia will achieve a first complete remission (CR). However relapse is the most common cause of treatment failure. Outcomes after relapse remain poor, with long-term survival in the order of 10 %. Treatment decisions made at the time of first complete remission are thus critical to ensuring long-term survival. Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) is effective at preventing relapse in many transplant recipients but is also associated with significant treatment related morbidity and mortality. Alternatively, ongoing systemic chemotherapy offers lower toxicity at the expense of increased relapse rates. Over the past decades, both the safety of transplant and the efficacy of non-transplant chemotherapy have improved. Emerging data show substantially improved outcomes for young adults treated with pediatric-inspired chemotherapy regimens that question the role of HCT in the upfront setting. In this review, we review the data supporting the role of allogeneic transplantation in adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and we propose a therapeutic algorithm for upfront therapy of adults with ALL.     

Assessment of Coagulation Disorders in Patients with Acute Leukemia Before and After Cytostatic Treatment

Coagulation disorders are often the reason for fatal bleeding in acute promyelocytic leukemia. Their occurrence as well as pathogenesis and prognostic significance in other subtypes of acute myelogenous leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia is less known. Tests were carried out in 70 patients including 49 with AML and 21 with ALL. In all patients throm-bin-antithrombin complexes (TAT), D-dimer (DD) and plasmin-antiplasmin complexes (PAP), antithrombin 111 activity, fibrinogedfibrin degradation products, AFlT and PT were determined. The tests were performed on diagnosis and after cytostatic treatment.

The level of TAT, DD and PAP was elevated in 83% of the patients on diagnosis and in 90% after treatment. The highest values were observed in AML M3 patients. Among leuke-mic patients with normal levels of TAT, DD and PAP at diagnosis, cytostatic treatment had a negligible effect on the level of these markers. During remission the levels of these markers returned to the normal values while in patients without remission they were either elevated or returned to normal values. No correlation between the levels of activation markers and remission rate was reported. DIC was diagnosed in 13 patients including three after chemotherapy. The DIC was acute or subacute in AML and chronic in ALL patients.

In the majority of acute leukemia patients there were already changes on diagnosis indicating coagulation activation. Except for AML M3, these usually had a subclinical course. The TAT, DD and PAP tests are not reliable markers of remission in acute leukemias.     

急性髓系白血病（非M3）化疗后骨髓油滴和巨核细胞数变化规律及其预后意义

 目的　探讨急性髓系白血病（AML）（非M3）患者化疗后骨髓油滴和巨核细胞数变化规律及其预后意义。方法　对99例初诊AML（非M3）患者资料进行回顾性分析,评价规范治疗各阶段骨髓油滴及巨核细胞数变化及其对总体生存（OS）率、无病生存（DFS）率的影响。结果　99例患者中位DFS为 21（2～88）个月,3年DFS率为47.3 %,中位OS 70（4～89）个月,3年OS率55.8 %。诱导化疗达完全缓解（CR）后骨髓油滴随着诱导缓解后化疗次数增加呈增加趋势,而巨核细胞数呈减少趋势。将单因素分析提示有意义的诱导缓解后第2次化疗后巨核细胞数变化率、诱导缓解后第1～3次化疗后骨髓油滴变化、骨髓纤维化分级、初诊乳酸脱氢酶值、白血病细胞免疫分型、起病时骨髓白血病细胞比例及诱导化疗结束后第7～10天残留白血病细胞比例等观察指标纳入多因素分析,结果提示起病时骨髓白血病细胞比例小于50 %、诱导缓解后第3次化疗后骨髓油滴较诱导化疗CR期增多对于延长患者DFS时间有独立预后意义（P＝0.010、0.018）;而诱导化疗结束后第7～10天残留白血病细胞比例≥10 %及诱导缓解后第2次化疗后骨髓巨核细胞数变化率≤-50 %为OS的独立不良预后因素（P＝0.009、0.038）。结论　AML（非M3）患者达CR后,随着诱导缓解后化疗次数增加骨髓油滴呈增加趋势,而巨核细胞数呈减少趋势。动态观察骨髓油滴及巨核细胞计数有助于患者预后判断。     

急性白血病长期生存相关因素研究

 目的　分析影响急性白血病（AL）长期生存的因素。方法　对143例中27例长期生存5年以上AL患者的临床资料进行回顾分析,AL患者诱导缓解期采用强烈联合化疗,并实行个体化用药原则,坚持缓解后正规的巩固强化治疗,长期随访观察,根据情况调整用药方案。结果　AL 143例中达到完全缓解112例（78.3 %）,27例（18.9 %）达5年以上长期生存。结论　影响AL长期生存的主要因素为AL类型、白血病细胞负荷、髓外白血病、个体化治疗、达到完全缓解的时间、强化治疗的时间、规范的缓解后治疗等。     

Recent advances in pediatric acute lymphoblastic and myeloid leukemia

Acute leukemia is the most common form of childhood cancer and is the primary cause of cancer-related mortality in children. In the United approximately 3250 cases are diagnosed annually in children and adolescents younger than 20 years, of whom 2400 have acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Treatment results in childhood ALL continue to improve, and the expected current cure rates approach 75 to 80% of all children with ALL, including T-ALL and mature B-cell ALL, the two variants that, not too long ago, had a considerably poorer prognosis compared with the common form of BpALL. The most significant new development in the past 2 years has been the development of further evidence for fetal origin of childhood leukemias, and additional evidence to support the notion that postnatal events modulating the events of immune-mediated elimination of these leukemic clones play a major role in the eventual development of clinical disease. Other epidemiologic developments include (1) increased appreciation of the role of drug-metabolizing enzymes, both in determining the predisposition to leukemia and response to therapy; and (2) both clinical observations and gene expression studies seeming to identify a new approach to the evaluation and treatment of children with MLL (11q23) rearrangements. A most remarkable new development in the induction therapy of childhood leukemia and lymphoma in the United States is the use of urate oxidase for prevention of tumor lysis syndrome and the associated uric acid nephropathy. Drug resistance, determined either on leukemic blast cells in vitro or by studies of MRD, is being looked at critically in an effort to improve the treatment results further. Consolidation with HDMTX has gained wider popularity with the realization that effective CNS prophylaxis can be achieved with intrathecal therapy plus HDMTX for consolidation. In contrast to ALL, the progress in the therapy of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) lags behind, with cure rates of approximately 40 to 50%. There is no convincing evidence for substitution of daunorubicin with other anthracyclines, nor evidence for using high-dose cytarabine during induction in childhood AML. Rather, a 3 + 10 regimen with total daunorubicin 180 mg/m2 and cytarabine 100 to 200 mg/2 for 10 days appears to yield the best results. The most important component of the postremission chemotherapy continues to be several courses of high-dose cytarabine. The results from the MRC 10, LAME 89/91 studies and the recent BFM 93 trial with high-dose cytarabine and mitoxantrone suggest that there may be some benefit to including this combination in the postremission phase of AML. Despite these improvements in chemotherapy, allogeneic BMT from a matched family donor remains the best option for most patients (excluding Down syndrome, APL, and possibly those with inv16). Newer prognostic markers of interest include FLT3/ITD and minimal residual disease at the end of induction therapy.     

Acute Myeloid Leukemia: When to Transplant in First Complete Remission

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is commonly used to treat acute myeloid leukemia (AML) because it is potentially curative when other therapies have a low likelihood of success. Although most patients with newly diagnosed AML will achieve a first complete remission (CR1) with standard induction chemotherapy, obtaining a durable remission necessarily requires either further (postremission) chemotherapy or allogeneic HSCT. The decision of which of these options to choose is complex and depends on both clinical and molecular variables as well as the availability and histocompatibility of donor stem cells. Important clinical factors include the individual patient’s age, performance status, and comorbidities. Molecular and cytogenetic factors are increasingly important in stratifying patients into favorable, intermediate, and unfavorable risk categories. Whereas patients with favorable-risk cytogenetics fare better with postremission chemotherapy, allogeneic HSCT provides superior long-term survival for most non-elderly patients with intermediate-risk or unfavorable-risk AML. Because of the expanded use of umbilical cord blood as a source of hematopoietic stem cells and the use of reduced-intensity conditioning regimens, allogeneic HSCT is an option for an increasing number of patients with AML.     

Managing acute myeloid leukemia in the elderly

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a disease of the elderly, with the majority of patients diagnosed in their 6th and 7th decade of life. Older patients with AML are less likely to achieve complete remission after induction chemotherapy, and they suffer from higher rates of leukemia relapse compared to younger cohorts. Suboptimal outcomes are the result of adverse biologic characteristics of leukemia in the elderly, as well as the presence of medical comorbidities and patient or physician preferences as to initiating treatment. In addition, there is a distinct lack of randomized, prospective data to guide management decisions for the treatment of AML in the elderly. Patients who are over age 75, with poor performance status, multiple comorbidities, or poor prognostic features, should be considered for a clinical trial or palliative therapy. Elderly patients who are candidates for standard induction chemotherapy and achieve complete remission are unlikely to benefit from intensive postremission therapy and should be referred to a clinical trial when possible. Further prospective trials are needed to identify a tolerable, effective treatment regimen for older patients with AML.     

Progress in the treatment of acute myelogenous leukemia

Results of treatment of AML have substantially progressed within the last decade. In almost all cases, the AML 3-year-survival rate did not exceed 1% in the 1960s. The 5-year disease-free survival rate now is ranges from 10% to 25% in adults and up to 45% in children. The 3-year survival at our hospital is 50%. Recent chemotherapy for acute leukemia is aimed at not only remission induction but also cure of the disease. Although some hematologists claim to stop chemotherapy as early as possible, there is considerable controversy regarding the total length of postremission treatment. Bone marrow transplantation is increasingly used to treat patients with acute leukemia in many facilities. Bone marrow transplantation assures a lower relapse rate than with chemotherapy alone. The limitations are the risk of transplant-related mortality, lack of a histo-compatible donor and advanced age. To achieve substantial improvement in results of AML treatment requires the development of new drugs, and the reduction of transplant-related death. An attempt to establish registries of HLA type for the transplantation from unrelated, HLA-identical donors is now under way.     

The clinical relevance of IgG subclasses in acute leukemias: low serum IgG as a risk factor for early death due to infection in acute myelogenous leukemia.

In order to investigate the clinical significance of IgG subclass levels in adult patients treated for acute lymphocytic (ALL) or myelogenous leukemias (AML), patients were tested before and in regular intervals during and after chemotherapy. Ten patients treated for acute lymphocytic leukemia had normal total IgG and IgG subclass levels that decreased under chemotherapy. This decrease was not associated with septic complications. In contrast, total IgG and subclass levels increased in most patients with acute myelogenous leukemia during chemotherapy and bone marrow aplasia. Those patients with newly diagnosed AML and low total serum IgG before treatment with intensive remission induction chemotherapy had, however, an increased risk of early death due to septic complications.     

Stage-specific application of allogeneic and autologous marrow transplantation in the management of acute myeloid leukemia

Allogeneic (alloBMT) and autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT) have become standard approaches for the management of adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The indications for transplantation remain controversial as parallel improvements in intensive chemotherapy have resulted in excellent outcomes for many patients. AlloBMT is the therapy of choice for patients who fail to respond to induction chemotherapy. For those patients in first remission (CRI), a policy of intensive postremission chemotherapy with transplantation upon relapse appears to be optimal. There are no data to support transplantation in CRI, allogeneic or autologous, for those patients with leukemia characterized by favorable cytogenetic abnormalities [ie, core-binding factor type or t(15;17)], as these patients do well with nonmyeloablative strategies. Patients with relapsed disease appear to be best served with allogeneic transplantation from a human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched sibling or one-antigen-mismatched family member, whereas for those patients lacking a related donor, unrelated donor alloBMT or ABMT provides similar long-term overall survival. Randomized studies for the optimal management of relapsed disease are lacking but are needed. The objective of this review is to discuss the data supporting the use of alloBMT or ABMT at various points during the course of de novo adult AML.     

Relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia: Current status and future opportunities

Significant improvements in primary therapy for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have led to dramatic increases in cure rates over the past few decades. Relapsed ALL, however, remains more common than new diagnoses of many common pediatric malignancies. Outcomes for patients with relapsed ALL remain poor, especially for patients with early bone marrow relapse. However, most relapse patients do achieve a second complete remission, followed by therapeutic options including further chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplant. The level of minimal residual disease after achieving second remission or before transplant may predict outcomes. The substantial likelihood of achieving second remission with familiar drug combinations may discourage participation in formal relapse studies. The high likelihood of achieving a third remission may discourage participation in single-gent trials of new drugs, despite the critical need for novel agents with activity against resistant disease that may improve outcomes for recurrent ALL.