Abstract
Thirty-two patients with untreated ALL (n=26) or lymphoblastic lymphoma (n=6) between 17 and 65 years of age were treated with a short remission induction course with VP16-213, amsacrine, intermediate dose Ara-C for 6 days, prednisone and intrathecal methotrexate, followed by a consolidation course with vincristine, amsacrine, high dose Ara-C for 4 days, prednisone and intrathecal methotrexate. After subsequent cranial irradiation, no further maintenance was planned. However, some patients underwent an allogeneic (n=5) or autologous (n=5) bone marrow transplantation after the consolidation treatment.
Twenty-three of 32 patients (72%) achieved a complete remission. Ten of 13 patients with T-ALL or lymphoma, six of eight patients with pre-B or common ALL, and seven of 11 patients with B-ALL or Burkitt's lymphoma achieved a complete remission. The median duration of remission was 24 months. Overall survival for the whole group was 35% at 5 years. The diseasefree survival was 45% at 5 years. Long-term survival for patients with B or T-ALL was approximately 60%, compared with 15% for those with common or pre BALL.
Short term intensive courses including intermediate or high dose Ara-C during remission and consolidation treatment lead to results comparable to those obtained with long-term maintenance regimens. Our regimen may be sufficient for patients with T or B-ALL. Larger randomized studies are needed to investigate the relative importance of our observations.
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Willemze, R., Zijlmans, J.M.J.M., den Ottolander, G.J. et al. High-dose Ara-C for remission induction and consolidation of previously untreated adults with ALL or lymphoblastic lymphoma. Ann Hematol 70, 71–74 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01834382
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01834382