Abstract
OBJECTIVE To investigate the efficacy of arsenic trioxide combined with all trans retinoic acid (ATRA) for patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). METHODS A total of 159 cases of APL were selected from January 2011 to December 2014 in our hospital, among them 75 cases were treated by As₂O₃combined with ATRA, 43 cases were treated with As₂O₃alone, 41 cases were treated with ATRA alone. The cardiac enzymes level, lever function index change, death rate, complate remission (CR) rate, time of reaching CR and complicatiens were compared in 3 groups. RESULTS After treatment of 8 courses, ALT and AST levels in As₂O₃+ ATRA group were significantly higher than those in As₂O₃and ATRA alone groups; the CK-MB and TnI-UI index increased in As₂O₃group (P < 0.05); as compared with As₂O₃group, the mortality and CR rate in As₂O₃+ ATRA group were no significant different, but the time of reaching CR was significantly shortened. For relapsed patients, the CR rate in As₂O₃+ ATRA group was no significantly different from that in As₂O₃group, while was significantly higher than that in ATRA group. The ratio of liver function damage in As₂O₃+ ATRA group was increased, moreover the incidence of leukocytosis and headache in ATRA group was significantly higher than that in As₂O₃+ ATRA and As₂O₃group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The efficacy of As₂O₃conbined with ATRA for inducing remission is better than that of single drug treatment, moreover the adverse reactions occur less.
