Clinical and molecular aspects of retinoid therapy for acute promyelocytic leukemia.

As a single agent, all-trans RA produces a higher rate of complete remission in APL than any other drug in any other neoplastic disease. The molecular findings in this illness have been exploited to develop a means of detecting and eradicating minimal residual disease. Compared with other forms of acute myeloid leukemia, this subtype is now associated with the highest proportion of patients in extended disease-free first remission who are presumably cured of their disease. APL is a prototype for understanding the pathogenesis of a malignant disease and the development of novel therapies that are targeted to specific molecular abnormalities.