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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · South Asian J Cancer 2015; 04(01): 004-006
DOI: 10.4103/2278-330X.149918
MYELOID LEUKEMIA : Original Article

Role of low dose cytarabine in elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia: An experience

Yasir Bashir
Departments of Clinical Haematology, Sher I Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
,
Sajjad Geelani
Departments of Clinical Haematology, Sher I Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
,
Nusrat Bashir
Lab Haematology, Sher I Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
,
Shabeer A. Mir
General Surgery, Sher I Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
,
Mosin Mushtaq
General Surgery, Sher I Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
,
M. Aleem Jan
Departments of Clinical Haematology, Sher I Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
,
Javid Rasool
Departments of Clinical Haematology, Sher I Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences, Soura, Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India
› Author Affiliations Source of Support: Nill.
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Abstract

Purpose: To highlight the acceptable results seen after use of low dose cytarabine in elderly patients of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with comorbidities. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective study carried on 30 newly diagnosed patients of AML over 60 years of age who were unfit for standard treatment regimens. We did not use azacytidine and decitabine in our patients because these therapeutic modalities being extremely costly and our patient affordability being poor. After taking patient consent and institutional ethical clearance these patients were treated with 20 mg/m2 cytarabine subcutaneously in two divided doses 12 h apart for 4 days every week for 4 weeks which constituted a cycle before disease, re-assessment was done. A repeat cycle was administered where ever needed and after attainment of remission, we continued low dose cytarabine for 2 days/week as maintenance after complete or partial response was documented. Results: In our study, we found that around 20% of patients achieved complete remission and 30% partial remission. The remission rates were definitely influenced by counts at presentation, performance at presentation, comorbidities, underlying myelodysplastic syndrome and baseline cytogenetics. Conclusion: Low dose cytarabine is effective treatment option for elderly patients with AML when standard treatment options are not warranted.

Key words

Comorbidity - elderly acute myeloid leukemia - low dose cytarabine


Publication History

Article published online:
31 December 2020

© 2015. MedIntel Services Pvt Ltd. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial-License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.)

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