Extramedullary relapse in acute promyelocytic leukemia treated with all-trans retinoic acid and chemotherapy.

We analyzed the incidence, presenting features, risk factors of extramedullary (EM) relapse occurring in acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) treated with all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and chemotherapy by using a competing-risk method. In total, 740/ 806 (92%) patients included in three multicenter trials (APL91, APL93 trials and PETHEMA 96) achieved CR, of whom 169 (23%) relapsed, including 10 EM relapses. Nine relapses involved the central nervous system (CNS) and one the skin, of which two were isolated EM relapse. In patients with EM disease, median WBC count was 26950/mm3 (7700-162000). The 3-year cumulative incidence of EM disease at first relapse was 5.0%. Univariate analysis identified age <45 years (P=0.05), bcr3 PML-RARalpha isoform (P= 0.0003) and high WBC counts (> or = 10,000/ mm3) (P<0.0001) as risk factors for EM relapse. In multivariate analysis, only high WBC count remained significant (P= 0.001). Patients with EM relapse had a poorer outcome since median survival from EM relapse was 6.7 months as compared to 26.3 months for isolated BM relapse (P=0.04). In conclusion, EM relapse in APL occurs more frequently in patients with increased WBC counts (> or = 10,000/mm3) and carries a poor prognosis. Whether CNS prophylaxis should be systematically performed in patients with WBC > or = 10,000/mm3 at diagnosis remains to be established.     

Treatment of newly-diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia with liposomal all-trans retinoic acid.

It has been postulated that recurrence of disease in some patients with newly-diagnosed APL induced into CR, and subsequently maintained, with single agent oral ATRA results from the decline in ATRA levels that occurs with repeated dosing. Administration of liposomal ATRA (lipoATRA) circumvents, for perhaps several months, the decrease in ATRA levels and produces CRs in patients with relapsed APL. These findings led us to administer lipoATRA "monotherapy" to patients with newly-diagnosed APL. Patients received lipoATRA (90 mg/m2) for induction and continued to receive the drug, by itself, for 9 months unless 2 PCR tests done within 2-4 weeks of each other at a sensitivity level of 10(-4) were positive at 3 or 6 months from CR date, in which case idarubicin was added to lipoATRA. If the PCR test was negative 9 months from CR date, treatment stopped. 34 patients were enrolled, of whom 79% entered CR. The PCR test at time of CR was positive in 23/24 patients, but was negative in 24/26 (92%) 3 months later. Of most interest 11 of the 26 evaluable responding patients have remained PCR negative (tested Q 3 months) with a median follow-up of 18 months (range up to 34 months). It is generally believed that this type of result would be unlikely with oral ATRA monotherapy. Recurrence of morphologic APL has occurred in 4 patients, at 5, 6, 12, and 12 months, with a median follow-up time of 18 months in the patients remaining alive in CR. Comparison of this lipoATRA +/- idarubicin trial with oral ATRA + idarubicin induction and idarubicin + POMP maintenance, our previous trial, indicates similar survival, CR, and DFS in CR rates, with a suggestion that lipoATRA may produce lower CR rates and hence shorter survival in patients with high-risk disease (wbc count > 10,000/microliter. Nonetheless, the rates and duration of PCR negativity produced by lipoATRA monotherapy suggest that lipoATRA is a superior anti-APL agent than oral ATRA.     

Pharmacokinetics of oral all-trans retinoic acid in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia.

It has been shown that patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (AML3 subtype) treated with all-trans retinoic acid (all-trans RA), 45 mg/m2/day, achieve complete remission through differentiation of the leukemic clone to mature myeloid cells, which die spontaneously. The pharmacokinetics of all-trans RA given by mouth were studied in 15 AML3 patients. Blood samples were drawn for 24 h following a single oral dose of 45 mg/m2 and assayed for all-trans RA and 13-cis retinoic acid (13-cis RA) plasma concentrations by specific high-performance liquid chromatography. In one patient all-trans RA and 13-cis RA levels were below the detection limits at all times. In the other patients, the time to peak concentration of all-trans RA was between 60 and 210 min (median 90 min) after ingestion, with maximum concentrations between 0.03 and 2.5 micrograms/ml (median 0.4 micrograms/ml). These concentrations were within the in vitro differentiating concentration range of all-trans RA for these patients' cells. In nine patients, enterohepatic cycling was suggested by the presence on the concentration versus time curve of a secondary peak that occurred at meal times. The apparent plasma elimination half-life was between 16.8 and 77.4 min (median 30 min). Detectable plasma levels of 13-cis RA in 12 patients indicated in vivo isomerization of all-trans RA. Despite the high inter-individual variability of all-trans RA pharmacokinetics in these patients, high blast cell counts and failure to respond to differentiation treatment tended to be associated with low all-trans RA Cmax values and high clearance estimates.     

全反式维甲酸联合三氧化二砷治疗急性早幼粒细胞白血病的疗效观察

背景与目的:三氧化二砷(arsenictrioxide,As2O3)治疗急性早幼粒细胞白血病作用机制与全反式维甲酸(all-transretinonicacid,ATRA)有所不同,前者主要是加速细胞的凋亡,后者是诱导细胞的分化。但两者均能抑制急性早幼粒细胞白血病组织因子(tissuefactor,TF)mRNA的转录,降低TF水平和促凝活性,从而改善患者的出凝血异常。本研究旨在探讨两药联合应用能否提高疗效及是否加重不良反应。方法:采用历史对照分组。2000年1月～2001年10月的22例急性早幼粒细胞白血病作为ATRA组,其中初治17例,复发5例;单用ATRA治疗,剂量为25mg/(m2·d),分两次口服,一个疗程最长不超过50天。2001年11月～2003年6月的急性早幼粒细胞白血病19例为联合治疗组,其中初治15例,复发4例,采用As2O3与ATRA联合治疗。治疗剂量为0.1%As2O3溶液10ml,加入5%葡萄糖溶液中静脉滴注,每天1次,持续4～6h,28天为一疗程,ATRA的剂量用法同前组。结果:ATRA治疗组22例中19例(初治16例,复发3例)获完全缓解,完全缓解率为86.4%。联合治疗组19例中17例(初治15例,复发2例)获完全缓解,缓解率为89.5%。病死率ATRA组为18.6%,共3例(1例初治,2例复发);联合治疗组为10.5%,共2例(均为复发者)。完全缓解率和病死率两组比较无统计学差异(P>0.05)。达到完全缓解的中位时间,AT     

全反式维甲酸治疗急性早幼粒细胞白血病合并维甲酸综合征的临床研究

目的：进一步探讨全反式维甲酸（ATRA）所致维甲酸综合征（RAS）的临床特征。方法：回顾分析9例出现RAS的急性早幼粒细胞白血病的患者的临床表现、治疗与预后。结果：RAS发生时间在ATRA治疗后3～28天（中位11天）。9例发热,7例呼吸困难,4例可闻及肺部湿罗音。4例胸水,2例心包积液,5例腹水,5例下肢浮肿,3例出现尿量减少,其中1例发展成为尿毒症。9例出现至少3种上述症状。经过地塞米松治疗,减量或停用ATRA,加用化疗及对症支持治疗,RAS状均可改善。7例白血病达完全缓解,1例因颅内出血死亡。结论：RAS临床表现较为严重,需积极采用激素及相应治疗。     

全反式维甲酸联合亚砷酸治疗儿童急性早幼粒细胞白血病疗效分析

目的:评价全反式维甲酸（all-trans retinoic acid,ATRA）联合亚砷酸(ATO)治疗儿童急性早幼粒细胞性白血病(acute promyelocytic leukemia,APL) 的疗效。方法:2009年8月至2013年4月于我院儿科就诊的APL患儿18例,将亚砷酸注射液（0.1% ATO）按6mg/m2稀释于50g/L的葡萄糖溶液200-400ml中,静脉滴注持续3-5h,1次/d,ATRA 20-35mg/(m·d),口服,3次/d。结果:18例患儿获得完全缓解（CR）率为94.4%;12例初治患儿均获得CR,6例复发患儿中5例获得CR。获得缓解时间（26.2±1.2）天,无明显不良反应发生。结论:ATRA联合亚砷酸治疗儿童APL疗效显著,有效缩短达到CR的时间,毒副作用基本可以耐受,本方案可以有效缩短治疗时间,降低患儿家庭经济负担,对患儿长期治疗具有重要作用,是一种经济有效的治疗方案。     

Clinical pharmacology of oral all-trans retinoic acid in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia.

All-trans retinoic acid (RA) induces leukemic cell differentiation and complete remission in a high proportion of patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). However, remissions induced by all-trans RA tend to be brief, and relapses are associated with resistance to further treatment in vivo, although the leukemic cells appear to retain sensitivity to the cytodifferentiating effects of all-trans RA in vitro. The clinical pharmacology of all-trans RA was examined in 13 patients with APL. The drug was administered at a constant dose of 45 mg/m2/day, given as a single dose on the first day of therapy and in two divided doses thereafter. Plasma and urinary concentrations of the parent drug and metabolites were quantitated by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and, where required, by a combination of normal-phase liquid chromatography/negative chemical ionization mass spectrometry. In patients with APL, basal levels of endogenous retinol and natural retinoids were within the normal range. Peak plasma levels of all-trans RA (347 +/- 266 ng/ml, mean +/- SD) were reached 1-2 h after drug ingestion and decayed in a monoexponential fashion with a half-life of 0.8 +/- 0.1 h. The only drug metabolite detected in plasma or urine was 4-oxo-all-trans RA (present in urine as the glucuronide conjugate). This metabolite accounted for less than 10% of the circulating drug in plasma, and its cumulative urinary excretion accounted for less than 1% of the administered dose. The drug was not found in cerebrospinal fluid. Continued oral administration of all-trans RA was associated with a significant decrease in both the plasma peak levels and the area under the concentration-time curve (P = 0.01 and 0.004, respectively) when measured after 2-6 weeks of treatment. We previously reported that a decrease in plasma area under the concentration-time curve was highly correlated with clinical relapse. Observations in a subset of patients in this study suggested that, in fact, the major decrease occurred early, within the first 7 days of treatment. These changes were associated with a 10-fold increase in urinary excretion of 4-oxo-all-trans RA glucuronide, suggesting that the accelerated clearance from plasma was associated with increased drug catabolism. The rapid disappearance may explain early relapse from remissions induced by all-trans RA; clinical "resistance" to all-trans RA may either wholly or in part result from an inability to sustain effective plasma concentrations of all-trans RA during continuous treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Phagocytosis of terminally differentiated acute promyelocytic leukemia cells by marrow histiocytes during treatment with all-trans retinoic acid

It has been established that acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cells are induced to terminally differentiate by all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), however, the clearance of differentiated APL cells in vivo has not been well understood. Here, we documented the elimination of terminally differentiated APL cells by histiocytes in bone marrow during differentiation induction therapy. In two ATRA-treated APL patients, bone marrow showed the striking phagocytosis of differentiated APL cells by histiocytes just before the achievement of complete remission. Histiocytes phagocytosed APL cells at the terminal stage of differentiation prior to the late apoptotic event of cell lysis. Engulfed APL cells then undergo morphological features of late apoptosis and finally fragmentation in the cytoplasm of histiocytes. This swift and efficient elimination of APL cells undergoing apoptosis by the histiocytes in bone marrow may be possible pathway, at least partially, for the clearance of differentiated APL cells.     

Short-term intensive consolidation therapy after all-trans retinoic acid in acute promyelocytic leukemia.

Complete remission induced by all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) in acute promyelocytic leukemia is short lived, and several consolidation chemotherapy courses usually are given to reduce the relapse rate. To assess the value of short-term intensive consolidation, 38 patients with newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia entered a prospective study in which induction therapy with ATRA immediately was followed by a single course of mitoxantrone plus high-dose cytarabine (3 g/m2 every 12 hours, days 1-4), with no further treatment. Complete remission was achieved in 31 patients (81.6%) after a median time of 49 days of ATRA (to which chemotherapy was added at entry in 10 patients with leukocytosis). Thirty patients received the planned consolidation course. After a median follow-up of 36 months, four of these patients have relapsed and 24 are still in first complete remission, for an estimated disease-free survival of 75% at 60 months. The authors conclude that this single course consolidation of ATRA-induced remission provides excellent long-term control of acute promyelocytic leukemia.     

全反式维甲酸联合高三尖杉酯碱治疗急性早幼粒细胞白血病的临床研究

 目的 研究全反式维甲酸（ATRA）联合高三尖杉酯碱（HHT）治疗急性早幼粒细胞白血病（APL）的可行性、疗效及不良反应。方法 选择初诊的APL患者26例随机分为研究组和对照组,分别给予ATRA或柔红霉素（DRN）／米托蒽琨（Mit）联合HHT诱导治疗,HA或DA／MA方案巩固治疗。在诱导及巩固治疗各疗程结束时分别对比两组病例的CR率、融合基因情况、不良反应及无病生存期（DFS）,并进行统计学分析。结果 研究组在诱导结束时全部病例获血液学缓解,缓解率为100 ％,融合基因转阴率为63.6 %。巩固第一疗程结束时融合基因转阴率为100 ％（至随访截止时间）。累计生存率为85.7 ％。诱导治疗期间中位累计血浆输注量为670 ml,中位累计血小板输注量32 U。对照组1例患者早期死亡,诱导结束时其余病例获血液学缓解。融合基因转阴率为38.5 %,巩固第一疗程结束时融合基因转阴率为91.7 %,累计生存率为75.6 ％。诱导治疗期间中位累计血浆输注量为760 ml,中位累计血小板输注量32 U。两组比较,在疗效、融合基因转阴率、累计生存率（85.7 %／75.6 %）及不良反应等方面均相似,在诱导治疗融合基因转阴率方面研究组似有优势,差异无统计学意义。结论 ATRA联合HHT治疗APL在疗效、融合基因转阴率、血浆及血小板输注量及不良反应方面差异无统计学意义,作为新诊断APL治疗的新选择,也可取得分子生物学缓解。     

Induction of differentiation of retinoic acid-resistant acute promyelocytic leukemia cells by the combination of all-trans retinoic acid and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor

An acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) cell line with natural resistance to all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), UF-1, was induced to differentiate into mature granulocyte when treated with the combination of ATRA and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), while neither of them alone was capable of inducing the differentiation effectively. Continuous presence of both agents was required for the maximal differentiation-inductive effect. Neither proliferation arrest nor induction of apoptosis preceded the differentiation. Differentiated phenotype was accompanied by growth arrest, however, not by increased apoptosis. It was assumed that cellular events at the downstream of the signaling pathways of ATRA and G-CSF cooperatively played pivotal roles in the differentiation-induction.     

CYTOKINE SECRETION IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE PROMYE—LOCYTIC LEUKEMIA AFTER TREATMENT WITH ALL—TRANS RETINOIC ACID

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is characterized by the clonal expansion of hematopoietic progenitor cells and by the presence of the specific chromosomal translocation t(15; 17) (q22; q21)[1], which results in a fusion gene PML/RARa by juxtaposing the PML gene on chromosome 15 and the RARa gene on chromosome 17[2]. PML/RARa plays a critical role in the high sensitivity of APL blasts to all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA). It was well known that all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) was fi…     

Induction of CXC and CC chemokines by all-trans retinoic acid in acute promyelocytic leukemia cells

We previously reported the induction of interleukin-8 (IL-8), one of the CXC chemokines, by all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) in PL-21 and NB4 human myeloid leukemia cells, which may be implicated in APL differentiation syndrome that is a relatively frequent complication in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) during treatment with ATRA. We, therefore, further investigated the effects of ATRA on the expression of chemokine family in NB4 cells and APL cells prepared from two APL patients. The RNase protection assay using a multi-probe template set for human chemokines revealed that ATRA induced gene expressions of a number of CC chemokines, such as monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1alpha and MIP-1beta in NB4 cells. Their antigen levels were also increased in the cultured media. APL cells prepared from two APL patients showed gene expression of chemokines, such as IL-8, MCP-1, MIP-1alpha, and MIP-1beta when stimulated with ATRA in vitro. Furthermore, serum levels of IL-8, MIP-1beta and RANTES were increased during the course of ATRA treatment in both APL patients who developed APL differentiation syndrome. These chemokines are all chemoattractants of particular inflammatory cell types, including neutrophils, monocytes and lymphocytes; therefore, the simultaneous induction of these chemokines after stimulation with ATRA may exacerbate the hyper-inflammation observed in ATRA-induced APL differentiation syndrome.     

Thrombosis in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia treated with and without all-trans retinoic acid

Laboratory evidence of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and/or fibrinolysis is present in the majority of patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Historically, early hemorrhagic death (EHD) occured in 10% to 30% of patients treated with chemotherapy. All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), a differentiating agent, has a CR rate above 80% in patients, with ATRA-associated leukocytosis. We studied thrombotic events in this population and compared it to patients treated with chemotherapy alone. The results of studies using ATRA in patients with APL were reviewed. Patients received ATRA 45-50 mg/m² orally in two divided doses daily until complete remission. In newly diagnosed patients, Idarubicin 12 mg/m²/day was given intravenously for 4 to 5 days beginning on the fifth day of ATRA therapy or when the white blood cell count (WBC) was over 10×10³/μl. Thrombotic complications were noted in 3 of 31 patients during induction. Two died from thrombotic events during therapy with multiple thromboses documented at autopsy. ATRA syndrome was suspected in 2 of the patients with thromboses and only 1 of the patients without thrombosis. In previous studies, 1 of 25 APL patients treated with chemotherapy alone had thrombotic events during therapy. In conclusion, treatment of APL with ATRA may decrease the incidence of hemorrhagic complications, but does not eliminate thrombosis. While thrombotic events were not significantly increased in patients treated with ATRA, they were more common in patients suspected of having ATRA syndrome.