LAUSR

PurposeThe aim of the present study was to investigate the efficacy and adverse effects of HCAG and FLAG re-induction chemotherapy in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients of low- and intermediate-risk groups following induction failure.MethodsA total of 98 AML patients were enrolled. Among these subjects, 47 patients were treated with HCAG chemotherapy, while 51 patients were treated with FLAG chemotherapy.ResultThe complete remission (CR) and overall remission (OFF) were 24% and 38%, respectively in patients with HCAG induction chemotherapy, while the corresponding percentages were 28% and 42% in subject receiving FLAG chemotherapy. The median survival time of progress-free survival (PFS) was 29.8 (95% CI 23.749–35.851) months in the HCAG group and 30.8 (95% CI 21.728–39.872) months in the FLAG group (P = 0.620). A total of 42 patients in the HCAG group suffered from grade 4 hematological toxicity, while this adverse reaction was noted for all patients who were treated with FLAG chemotherapy (P = 0.023). A total of 19 cases indicated apparent nonhematological toxicity in the HCAG group, while only 40 (78.4%) were noted with these adverse reactions in the FLAG group (P = 0.000).ConclusionThe HCAG regimen exhibited a similar effect compared with the FLAG regimen in low- and intermediate-risk groups, although the HCAG regimen significantly decreased the toxicity compared with that noted in the FLAG regimen group.