[A short duration treatment with intensive consolidation therapy for patients with acute myelogenous leukemia--13 year experience in a single institute].

Fifty-seven patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) received the following treatment in our hospital between May 1992 and April 2005. Group A: combination of enocitabine, daunorubicin, 6-mercaptopurine riboside and prednisolone (BHAC-DMP) for remission induction, BHAC-DMP or idarubicin (IDR)+cytarabine (Ara-C) for first consolidation, combination of prednisolone, Ara-C, mitoxantrone and etoposide (PAME) for second consolidation, and PAME for late intensification; Group B: IDR+Ara-C for remission induction, PAME for first consolidation, and high-dose Ara-C+mitoxantrone for second consolidation; Group C (acute promyelocytic leukemia, APL) : all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) for remission induction, BHAC-DMP or IDR+Ara-C for first consolidation, and PAME for second consolidation. The complete remission (CR) rate was 77% in Group A, 76% in Group B, and 71% in Group C. Five-year relapse-free survival rate of the CR patients was 35% in Group A, 49% in Group B, and 70% in Group C. All of the patients had severe neutropenia, but the number of infectious death was small. A short duration treatment with intensive consolidation therapy was effective for patients with AML and improved their quality of life (QOL).