The New England Journal of Medicine
e-mail icon  FREE NEJM E-TOC    HOME   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   CURRENT ISSUE   |   PAST ISSUES   |   COLLECTIONS   |    Advanced Search
Sign in | Get NEJM's E-Mail Table of Contents — Free | Subscribe
 
Original Article
Volume 339:1341-1348 November 5, 1998 Number 19
NextNext

Complete Remission after Treatment of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia with Arsenic Trioxide
Steven L. Soignet, M.D., Peter Maslak, M.D., Zhu-Gang Wang, Ph.D., Suresh Jhanwar, Ph.D., Elizabeth Calleja, M.D., Laura J. Dardashti, B.A., Diane Corso, B.S., Anthony DeBlasio, B.A., Janice Gabrilove, M.D., David A. Scheinberg, M.D., Ph.D., Pier Paolo Pandolfi, M.D., Ph.D., and Raymond P. Warrell, M.D.

 Sign up for free e-toc
 

This Article
-Full Text
- PDF

Commentary
-Editorial
 by Gallagher, R. E.
-Letters

Tools and Services
-Add to Personal Archive
-Add to Citation Manager
-Notify a Friend
-E-mail When Cited

More Information
-PubMed Citation
ABSTRACT

Background Two reports from China have suggested that arsenic trioxide can induce complete remissions in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). We evaluated this drug in patients with APL in an attempt to elucidate its mechanism of action.

Methods Twelve patients with APL who had relapsed after extensive prior therapy were treated with arsenic trioxide at doses ranging from 0.06 to 0.2 mg per kilogram of body weight per day until visible leukemic cells were eliminated from the bone marrow. Bone marrow mononuclear cells were serially monitored by flow cytometry for immunophenotype, fluorescence in situ hybridization, reverse-transcription–polymerase-chain-reaction (RT-PCR) assay for PML–RAR-{alpha} fusion transcripts, and Western blot analysis for expression of the apoptosis-associated proteins caspases 1, 2, and 3.

Results Of the 12 patients studied, 11 had a complete remission after treatment that lasted from 12 to 39 days (range of cumulative doses, 160 to 515 mg). Adverse effects were relatively mild and included rash, lightheadedness, fatigue, and musculoskeletal pain. Cells that expressed both CD11b and CD33 (antigens characteristic of mature and immature cells, respectively), and which were found by fluorescence in situ hybridization to carry the t(15;17) translocation, increased progressively in number during treatment and persisted in the early phase of complete remission. Eight of 11 patients who initially tested positive for the PML–RAR-{alpha} fusion transcript by the RT-PCR assay later tested negative; 3 other patients, who persistently tested positive, relapsed early. Arsenic trioxide induced the expression of the proenzymes of caspase 2 and caspase 3 and activation of both caspase 1 and caspase 3.

Conclusions Low doses of arsenic trioxide can induce complete remissions in patients with APL who have relapsed. The clinical response is associated with incomplete cytodifferentiation and the induction of apoptosis with caspase activation in leukemic cells.


Source Information

From the Developmental Chemotherapy Service (S.L.S., L.J.D., R.P.W.) and the Leukemia Service (P.M., A.D., J.G., D.A.S.), Department of Medicine; the Departments of Human Genetics (Z.-G.W., S.J., P.P.P.) and Pediatrics (E.C.); and the Division of Pharmacy (D.C.) — all at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and the Cornell University Medical College, New York.

Address reprint requests to Dr. Warrell at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Ave., New York, NY 10021.

Full Text of this Article


Related Letters:

Treatment of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia with Arsenic Trioxide
Tamm I., Paternostro G., Zapata J. M., Conrad M. E., Warrell R. P., Pandolfi P. P.
Extract | Full Text  
N Engl J Med 1999; 340:1043-1045, Apr 1, 1999. Correspondence

This article has been cited by other articles:



HOME  |  SUBSCRIBE  |  SEARCH  |  CURRENT ISSUE  |  PAST ISSUES  |  COLLECTIONS  |  PRIVACY  |  HELP  |  beta.nejm.org

Comments and questions? Please contact us.

The New England Journal of Medicine is owned, published, and copyrighted © 2008 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.