Induction and Post-Remission Therapy in Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Experience of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG)

Over the past few decades 2222 patients have entered seven consecutive ECOG studies for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) for an overall complete remission rate of 64% (Table 1). Accurate follow-up data are available on almost all patients and indicate a steady improvement in long-term survival, generally paralleling increasing the intensity of post remission therapy [1]. However, this difference is generally not observed among older adults over age of 55. The complete remission rate has not changed over much of this period using a fairly uniform induction regimen for most of the studies. While most adults with AML can achieve complete remission the challenge has been to maintain the duration of the disease-free survival especially in older adults. In this latter group, little progress appears to have been made.