Daunorubicin, cytosine arabinoside, 6-mercaptopurine riboside, and prednisolone (DCMP) combination chemotherapy for acute myelogenous leukemia in adults.

Thirty-seven adults with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) were treated with a combination of daunorubicin, cytosine arabinoside, 6-mercaptopurine riboside, and prednisolone (DCMP) for remission induction. Twenty-three of 37 patients (62.2%) achieved complete remission, three, partial remission and 11, failure. Patients with prior therapy responded as well as patients without it. The median survival time of the patients who received DCMP for their initial remission induction therapy was 10.3 months and that of the patients who obtained complete remission was 17 months. Complete remission occurred in 21 out of 28 patients (75%) less than 40 years old but in only two out of nine patients (22.2%) more than 40 years old. The most common toxic effects were severe myelosuppression and liver function abnormalities. DCMP therapy is an effective remission induction chemotherapy for adults with AML.