High remission rate in acute myeloblastic leukemia with only two days of chemotherapy

Twenty five patients with AML who had neither a. history of toxic exposure or myelodysplasia were treated with a remission induction regimen consistin g of two pulses of chemotherapy separated by 96 hrs. Each pulse consisted o f cytarabine 2gm/m(2) (at t=0 and t=12 hrs) with mitoxantrone [30mg/m(2)] a dministered immediately after the second cytarabine administration. Amifost ine was administered three times a week [on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday] until the outcome of therapy was known. This regimen induced complete remis sions in 15 of 17 patients less than 70 years of age and in 5 of 8 patients older than 70 years.