Oral idarubicin in combination with cytosine-arabinoside in previously untreated patients with acute non-lymphocytic leukemia.

Twenty-six previously untreated patients with acute non-lymphocytic leukemia (ANLL) were treated with oral idarubicin and cytosine-arabinoside (Ara-C). The median age of the patients was 44 years (range, 11-72). In 23 of the 26 patients a hypoplastic marrow, with a peripheral white cell count of less than 1,000/mm3 after treatment, was documented. Treatment was well tolerated with minimal symptoms of nausea and vomiting. Diarrhea was observed in three patients and stomatitis in nine patients. Alopecia was documented in only six patients. A complete remission (CR) was obtained in 12 patients (median duration 25 weeks). The median time to CR was 3.4 weeks (range, 1.4-5). Ten of the 26 patients were alive 6 months after the start of induction treatment, while a further four patients who were in the study for less than 6 months are alive and in remission at 5, 4, 3, and 3 months, respectively. Eight of 12 patients in whom bone marrow aplasia was documented achieved a CR; perhaps the drug dosages used in this study were suboptimal.