[Acute myelocytic leukemia in childhood: results of treatment from 1964 to 1979].

From 1964 to 1979, 57 children with acute myelocytic leukemia have been treated at the University Children's Hospital, Zürich. The overall remission rate was 0.60, with a median remission duration of 2 months and survival of 6.4 months. Patients with FAB type M 1 responded best, but longtime survivors were observed from all FAB types. Whereas in the 1960s only 4/19 achieved (short) remission, now, since the introduction of cytosine arabinoside, remissions are observed on 79% but median survival (10 months) is still short compared with acute lymphocytic leukemia. However, 11/38 children treated since 1971 survived for more than 2 years. Four of these relapsed (after less than 23 months of complete remission), while of the remaining seven, 5 have been off treatment for 5 to 77 months. This group includes children of both sexes, all ages, low and high WBS's, with organ infiltrates (excluding CNS and skin), and in whom the time taken to achieve M 1 marrow played no role. These results show that, with combination chemotherapy including cytosin arabinoside, remission can almost always be attained, but prolonged remission can be maintained only in about 1/5 of these children. The problems of maintenance treatment and CNS-prophylaxis need more attention in the future.