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NIH Radio |
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Arsenic Trioxide Improves Survival for Adults with Uncommon Form of Leukemia Right Click to Download MP3 File Brief Description: Transcript: AKINSO: Results of a National Cancer Institute study, show an improvement in survival of adults with an uncommon form of leukemia. According to the study, adult patients with previously untreated acute promyelocytic leukemia, known as APL, who had standard chemotherapy to induce remission of their disease, and then received the chemotherapy drug arsenic trioxide to maintain remission, had a better overall survival rate than those who received only standard chemotherapy. Dr. Tony Murgo, Head of the NCI's Early Clinical Trials Development Division of Cancer Treatment and Diagnosis said this positive outcome demonstrates the benefits of clinical trials and will hopefully serve as encouragement for others to join such trials. MURGO: Arsenic trioxide is already FDA approved for the treatment of APL, but only in patients after failure of standard therapy. The results of this trial are a remarkable demonstration of the beneficial effects of arsenic trioxide combined with standard therapy and the treatment of newly diagnosed patients with APL. AKINSO: APL accounts for approximately 1,500 cases per year in the United States. It is most often diagnosed in young and middle aged adults but it also occurs in children and older adults. Standard chemotherapy regimens produce complete remission rates of approximately 70 percent and show a 5 year survival without the recurrence of disease in 35 to 45 percent of patients. Dr. Murgo said these results indicate that arsenic trioxide should be considered as part of the initial treatment of patients with APL. This is Wally Akinso at the National Institutes of Health Bethesda, Maryland. |
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This page was last reviewed on January 26, 2007 . |
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