CYTARABINE, ACLARUBICIN IN COMBINATION WITH G-CSF (CAG) REGIMEN REPRESENTS AN ALTERNATIVE RE-INDUCTION OPTION FOR NON-REMISSION ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA

Objective: This study aimed at comparing the efficacy and toxicity of 3 re-induction regimens in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with non-remission (NR) after the first course of standard induction regimen. Materials and methods: The 3 regimens comprise: 1) CAG (low-dose cytarabine and aclarubicin and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF)) regimen (n = 50); 2) intermediate/high-dose cytarabine (I/HDAC) containing regimen (n = 30); and 3) SDAC (standard-dose cytarabine) combination regime (n = 27). Results: After the second course, results showed no significant differences in complete remission (CR) and overall response (OR=CR + partial remission (PR)) rates among these 3 regimens (P = 0.763, P = 0.321). However, the time of duration of neutropenia was shorter in CAG group than I/HDAC group (11 days vs. 16 days, P = 0.021). The overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS) rates were not significantly different in among 3 groups (P = 0.924, P = 0.536, respectively). Conclusions: Our preliminary results indicates that CAG regimen maybe as another option for these NR AML patients when re-induction chemotherapy.