Combination Therapy with Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor, All-Trans Retinoic Acid, and Low-Dose Cytotoxic Drugs for Acute Myelogenous Leukemia

Abstract

A 67-year-old man presented with acute myelogenous leukemia (M2). Peripheral blood examination revealed a leukocyte count of 1, 700/μl with 1% myeloblasts, and bone marrow aspiration showed 42.6% myeloblasts with Auer bodies. Culture of his marrow cells at diagnosis showed that granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) promoted cell proliferation, while all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) inhibited the proliferative effect of G-CSF and induced differentiation. Combination therapy with G-CSF, ATRA, and low-dose cytotoxic drugs achieved complete remission without severe marrow suppression.
(Internal Medicine 34: 1186-1189, 1995)