Cytarabine (Ara-C) in Children With Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL)

Summary

Several groups, especially the PETHEMA group (in their LPA96 and 99 trials), obtained low relapse rates in newly diagnosed Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) patients by combining ll-transretinoic acid (ATRA) and anthracyclines without Ara-C, suggesting that avoiding Ara-C in the chemotherapy of APL reduced treatment toxicity without increasing relapses. While the relapse rate for the children with white blood cell(WBC) counts greater than 10×109/L at presentation were higher than those WBC counts less than 10×109/L (31% and 3.5%,respectively) in the LPA96 and 99 trials. A recent adult randomized trial show that avoiding Ara-C leads to an increased risk of relapse in the APL patients with WBC counts less than 10×109/L. The role of the Ara-C remains controversial. And there are very limited data reported on children with APL so far.

Timeline

Start

2010-05

Primary completion

2017-02

Completion

2017-02

Publications

• Background Ortega JJ, Madero L, Martin G, Verdeguer A, Garcia P, Parody R, Fuster J, Molines A, Novo A, Deben G, Rodriguez A, Conde E, de la Serna J, Allegue MJ, Capote FJ, Gonzalez JD, Bolufer P, Gonzalez M, Sanz MA; PETHEMA Group. Treatment with all-trans retinoic acid and anthracycline monochemotherapy for children with acute promyelocytic leukemia: a multicenter study by the PETHEMA Group. J Clin Oncol. 2005 Oct 20;23(30):7632-40. doi: 10.1200/JCO.2005.01.3359.
• Zhang L, Zou Y, Chen Y, Guo Y, Yang W, Chen X, Wang S, Liu X, Ruan M, Zhang J, Liu T, Liu F, Qi B, An W, Ren Y, Chang L, Zhu X. Role of cytarabine in paediatric acute promyelocytic leukemia treated with the combination of all-trans retinoic acid and arsenic trioxide: a randomized controlled trial. BMC Cancer. 2018 Apr 3;18(1):374. doi: 10.1186/s12885-018-4280-2.

Drugs

Indications