Treatment of adult patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia according to the AIDA protocol

AIM: To give the results of an investigation conducted at the Hematology Research Center (HRC), Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (MHRF), to treat adult patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) according to the AIDA protocol elaborated by Spanish investigators/MATERIAL AND METHODS: The investigation enrolled 33 patients diagnosed with APL verified by cytogenetic and molecular studies, who had been treated at the HRC, MHRF, in July 2009 to January 2012. The patients classified in the low-, intermediate-, and high-risk groups were 30, 46.7; and 23.3%, respectively. The analysis was made in January 2013/RESULTS: The number of patients who achieved complete remission, as well as the mortality rates during remission induction were wholly comparable to those previously obtained when using the 7+3+ATRA protocol: 90.3 and 9.7%, respectively. One patient in remission died (3.6% mortality rate). The likelihood of recurrence in this investigation was high (21%), which was due to gross noncompliance with maintenance therapy. On examining the clearance of the malignant clone by FISH and polymerase chain reaction, a naturally chimeric transcript identified by a molecular study was statistically significantly more frequently revealed during postinduction therapy, which was associated with different sensitivity of the techniques. Comparison of changes in the disappearance of a chimeric marker for APL with the AIDA and 7+3+ARTA programs showed that the clearance of the malignant clone was much slower/CONCLUSION: The AIDA program is a highly effective treatment protocol for patients with APL.