Therapy of the myeloid blast phase of chronic granulocytic leukemia with plicamycin and hydroxyurea.

Treatment of the myeloid blast phase of chronic granulocytic leukemia is still a major problem in clinical hematology. Alternate-day plicamycin and hydroxyurea treatment was reported to induce remissions in the majority of patients with myeloid blast phase by Koller and Miller in 1986 Subsequently we treated eight patients according to this regimen. Complete remissions could not be achieved and no prolongation of median survival was observed. In two patients treatment had to be discontinued due to severe toxicity.