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Treatment of acute leukaemia with m-AMSA in combination with cytosine arabinoside

  • Original Articles
  • m-AMSA, Cytosine-arabinoside, Acute Leukaemia
  • Published:
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Summary

A series of 46 patients with acute leukaemia were treated with amsacrine (m-AMSA) and cytosine arabinoside (ara-C). Complete remission (CR) was achieved in 15 of 38 (40%) patients with acute myelogenous leukaemia (AML) and 4 of 8 (50%) patients with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). The CR rate was significantly higher (P(0.05) for the younger, previously treated patients with AML (9/16) than for the older previously untreated ones (6/22), because of higher treatment mortality in the latter group.

Myelosuppression was prolonged and profound. Major nonhaematological toxicity affected the gastrointestinal tract (nausea, vomiting, mucositis, bleeding and ileus associated with severe diarrhoea). Many patients also developed reversible hepatic dysfunction and two elderly patients died of cardiac arrhythmia.

Further trials of this combination are justified in patients with relapsed or resistant leukaemia, but for older patients dose reduction is recommended.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ICRF Department of Medical Oncology, St. Bartholomew's Hospital, EC1A, London, England

    H. S. Dhaliwal, M. S. Shannon, M. J. Barnett, J. S. Malpas & T. A. Lister

  2. Academic Department of Haematology, Royal Free Hospital, Pond Street, NW3, London, England

    H. G. Prentice & K. Bragman

  3. Department of Haematology, St. Bartholomew's Hospital, EC1A, London, England

    H. S. Dhaliwal, M. S. Shannon, M. J. Barnett, H. G. Prentice, K. Bragman, J. S. Malpas & T. A. Lister

Authors
  1. H. S. Dhaliwal
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  2. M. S. Shannon
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  3. M. J. Barnett
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  4. H. G. Prentice
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  5. K. Bragman
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  6. J. S. Malpas
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  7. T. A. Lister
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Dhaliwal, H.S., Shannon, M.S., Barnett, M.J. et al. Treatment of acute leukaemia with m-AMSA in combination with cytosine arabinoside. Cancer Chemother. Pharmacol. 18, 59–62 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00253066

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00253066

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