Treatment of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia with Single Agent Arsenic Trioxide: Experience from a Tertiary Care Center in India

APML is a highly curable hematological malignancy which is treated with differentiation agents and chemotherapy. The morbidity caused by chemotherapy in the treatment of APML is a great cause of concern. We treated 12 patients with newly diagnosed APML with single agent arsenic trioxide between 2010 and 2014 irrespective of risk stratification. Out of 12 patient 2 patients died during induction. All the ten patients who completed induction, completed their consolidation and maintenance without any delays. One out of these ten patients relapsed 10 months after treatment. The remaining nine patients (80 %) are in molecular remission and are under regular follow up. The toxicity with arsenic was negligible and was very well tolerated. Hence arsenic trioxide as single agent can be offered as a standard alternative regimen to ATRA based chemotherapy in patients with economic constraints.