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Review
. 2019 Dec;60(13):3107-3115.
doi: 10.1080/10428194.2019.1613540. Epub 2019 Dec 16.

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL): remaining challenges towards a cure for all

Maximilian Stahl  1 , Martin S Tallman  1
Affiliations
Review

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL): remaining challenges towards a cure for all

Maximilian Stahl et al. Leuk Lymphoma. 2019 Dec.

Abstract

The application of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO) has revolutionized the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). More than 80-90% of patients are expected to be cured with a combination of ATRA, ATO and/or chemotherapy. In this review, we focus on the remaining obstacles to a cure for all patients with APL. We review the issue of early death and coagulopathy and discuss the particular challenges in the care of patients with high-risk APL and patients with relapsed APL. We also give recommendations and highlight ongoing efforts to improve the persistently high early death rate and the outcomes of high risk and relapsed APL patients.

Keywords: APL; ATRA; cure.

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Conflict of interest statement

Potential conflict of interest: Disclosure forms provided by the authors are available with the full text of this article online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10428194.2019.1613540.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Remaining obstacles to cure for all APL patients and approaches to overcome them.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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