Primary relapse in patients with acute leukemia after an initial 5-year period of complete remission
Kawashima, K.; Nagura, E.; Yamada, K.; Hamajima, N.
Nihon Ketsueki Gakkai Zasshi Journal of Japan Haematological Society 49(7): 1354-1359
1986
ISSN/ISBN: 0001-5806 PMID: 3825455 Document Number: 273255
Fifty-nine patients with acute leukemia who had primary relapse after an initial complete remission (CR) period of 5 years were analysed for their clinical features. They comprised 12% of the patients (472 cases) who had a initial CR of 5 years or more. Fifteen patients were adults and 44 children. The female to male ratio was 21:38. Regardless of the initial remission induction therapy, most of the patients relapsed from 5 to 9 years after achieving CR. The relapse occurred as frequently in extramedullary sites as in the bone marrow in children, but predominantly in the bone marrow in adults. The median duration of their survivals for adults and children was approximately 9 years regardless of whether they had acute lymphocytic leukemia or acute non-lymphocytic leukemia. This study might provide useful information for strategy of therapy of acute leukemia.