Tolerance to arsenic trioxide combined with all-trans-retinoic acid in children with acute promyelocytic leukaemia in France

Diagnosis and management of acute promyelocytic leukemia: Brazilian consensus guidelines 2024 on behalf of the Brazilian Association of Hematology, Hemotherapy and Cellular Therapy

Improvements in clinical assessment have occurred since the last published recommendations on the diagnosis and treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia in 2013. Here, a committee of specialists of the Brazilian Association of Hematology, Hemotherapy and Cellular Therapy presents a comprehensive review on the current knowledge, focusing on the advances in diagnosis, risk assessment, and frontline and salvage therapy. The concept of urgent diagnosis is explored as well as the management of critical situations such as coagulopathy and differentiation syndrome. Recent adjustments in risk stratification based on white blood cell counts only are presented together with the incorporation of chemo-free regimens for non-high-risk patients. Special conditions such as acute promyelocytic leukemia in children, the elderly and pregnant women are discussed. Finally, acute promyelocytic leukemia is presented as a highly curable disease because of the real possibility of targeted therapy towards differentiation, and, paradoxically, as a serious and urgent condition that deserves prompt recognition and management to avoid early mortality.

Chemotherapy-free treatment for acute promyelocytic leukemia: the pediatric view of a revolutionary tale

The addition of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) to the standard anthracycline-base chemotherapy has revolutionized the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) over the last decades, becoming a model for precision medicine. The protocols based on the combination of ATRA and chemotherapy allowed obtaining excellent response rates both for children and adults. However, the persistence of anthracycline chemotherapy as a backbone was a matter of concern for both acute and long-term complications. Efforts in reducing anthracycline cumulative dose or even eliminating anthracycline have been pursued in more recent pediatric protocols thanks to the introduction of arsenic trioxide (ATO). The impressive results of the ATRA/ATO combinations led to the introduction of protocols completely chemotherapy-free for standard-risk adult patients as the standard of care, whereas pediatric chemo-free protocols are still currently under evaluation. In this Review, we will critically retrace the history of this unique revolution in precision medicine, discussing the peculiar advantages for pediatric patients with APL.

Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia in Children: A Model of Precision Medicine and Chemotherapy-Free Therapy

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) represents a paradigm of precision medicine. Indeed, in the last decades, the introduction of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO) completely revolutionized the therapeutic approach to this previously highly fatal disorder. This entirely chemotherapy-free treatment, which provided excellent survival rates, has been initially validated in adults and, recently, translated in the pediatric setting. This review summarizes currently available data on the use of ATRA and ATO combination in pediatric APL, providing a particular focus on peculiar issues and challenges, such as the occurrence of pseudotumor cerebri and death during induction (early death), as well as the advantage offered by the ATO/ATRA combination in sparing long-term sequelae.

Treatment outcomes of patients with acute promyelocytic leukaemia between 2000 and 2017, a retrospective, single centre experience

All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and arsenic trioxide (ATO) are effective induction therapy for acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL). However, early thrombo-haemorrhagic complications and mortality remain high. We aimed to investigate how the timing of ATRA initiation and the inclusion of ATO influence patient outcomes. Clinical records were retrospectively reviewed for all patients treated for APL in a single, tertiary centre during 2000-2017. Among 70 patients with APL, 36 (51.4%) presented with thrombo-haemorrhagic complications, and four (5.8%) died within 30 days. The median time to ATRA initiation was 11.2 (range 0-104) h from the time of admission. Patients requiring more transfusions started on ATRA sooner (P = 0.04). Patients with adverse early events did not start ATRA later (P = 0.99). Nevertheless, patients that required additional tests for diagnosis (PML immunofluorescence or molecular) started on ATRA later (28.5 versus 5.3 h; P < 0.0001), and had more thrombo-haemorrhagic complications (P = 0.04). Long-term survival was actually better in patients who started ATRA later (P = 0.03), which is likely explained by higher proportion of low risk patients in this group. Patients treated with ATO (n = 23) maintained higher fibrinogen levels and required less transfusions during induction (P < 0.05), with no disease-related deaths in this group over a median follow-up time of 37.8 months (interquartile range 44.9 months). In summary, fast ATRA initiation reduces early but not late adverse events in APL patients, and the inclusion of ATO helps further improve both early and late outcomes in APL.