Fifty-four adults with acute leukemia resistant to other therapies received treatment with Daunorubicin and L-asparaginase. Seventeen (31 %) achieved complete remission. The complete remission rate was higher among the 31 patients receiving simultaneous therapy than among the 23 patients receiving sequential therapy (42% vs. 17%). Patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia had a higher remission rate than patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (38% vs. 20%). The median duration of complete remission was only 12 weeks, and the median duration of survival for responders was 30 weeks.
AUNORUBICIN IS AN ANTITUMOR ANTIBIOTIC
D obtained from Streptomyces peucetius
which inhibits DNA-dependent RNA synthesis.5~8313 It is active against both solid and ascitic forms of a wide variety of animal tumors.6 T h e drug has been used successfully in the treatment of both acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) and acute myelogenous leukemia I(AML), producing complete remissions in 20-55% of patients.3~12J7 It has been more effective in patients as primary therapy than when administered to patients who have relapsed following successful remission induction with other agents. Daunorubicin has substantial toxicity which includes myelosuppression, oral ulceration, esophagitis, and alopecia.193J2J' Prolonged therapy may lead to cardiac toxicity, manifested as tachycardia and heart failure and usually irreversible.