What is ATRA used for?

What is ATRA used for?

ATRA is used to treat acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL, APML).

How much does ATRA cost?

Total costs per patient ranged from $96,940 for the ATRA + AraC + additional chemotherapy regimen to $136,170 for the ATO + ATRA regimen.

Does ATRA cause hair loss?

Trisenox has no known cross-resistance with ATRA or other anticancer agents. It does not cause hair loss and is not myelosuppressive in patients with APL.

What causes Apml?

APML is most commonly associated with a swapping over (translocation) of chromosomes 15 and 17. This causes parts of a gene from each of these chromosomes to join and create a fusion gene called PML/RARA. In some cases, other chromosomes may translocate and cause a variant APML, but this is quite rare.

What is the survival rate for APL?

APL is now considered a highly curable disease, with 2-year event-free survival rates of 75–84%. Early mortality is common in APL and is frequently related to hemorrhagic complications.

Can APL leukemia be cured?

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) has become a curable disease by all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA)-based induction therapy followed by two or three courses of consolidation chemotherapy. Currently around 90% of newly diagnosed patients with APL achieve complete remission (CR) and over 70% of patients are curable.

How do you treat high risk APL?

Currently, there are 2 potential treatment options for high-risk patients, that is, ATRA plus ATO with the addition of some cytoreductive chemotherapy and ATRA plus chemotherapy, because neither has yet been shown to be superior in randomized studies.

How long is treatment for APL?

The most common options for maintenance therapy are ATRA alone, or ATRA along with chemo (6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) and/or methotrexate). Maintenance therapy is typically given for about a year.

What is high-risk APL?

Summary: High-risk APL, traditionally defined by an initial white cell count exceeding 10 × 10⁹/l, has proven to be almost as amenable to disease eradication as low-risk and intermediate-risk APL, provided treatment includes ATRA, ATO and some chemotherapy.

What are the symptoms of acute promyelocytic leukemia?

People with acute promyelocytic leukemia are especially susceptible to developing bruises, small red dots under the skin (petechiae), nosebleeds, bleeding from the gums, blood in the urine (hematuria), or excessive menstrual bleeding.

What is APL disease?

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a unique subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in which cells in the bone marrow that produce blood cells (red cells, white cells and platelets) do not develop and function normally.

How is APL diagnosed?

The diagnosis of APL is based on an evaluation of the clinical presentation, morphology, immunophenotyping, karyotype, RT-PCR, FISH and immunofluorescence with anti-PML monoclonal antibodies. The redundancy of diagnostic tests is beneficial because of the broad and indistinct characterization of the disease.

Is leukemia sexually transmitted?

A type of virus that infects T cells (a type of white blood cell) and can cause leukemia and lymphoma. Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 is spread by sharing syringes or needles, through blood transfusions or sexual contact, and from mother to child during birth or breast-feeding.

What are the 4 types of leukemia?

The major types of leukemia are:

• Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). This is the most common type of leukemia in young children.
• Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). AML is a common type of leukemia.
• Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
• Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).
• Other types.

How painful is leukemia?

Leukemia or myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) can cause bone or joint pain, usually because your bone marrow has become overcrowded with cancer cells. At times, these cells may form a mass near the spinal cord’s nerves or in the joints.

What is worst type of leukemia?

Adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. This type of cancer usually gets worse quickly if it is not treated.

What is the most aggressive leukemia?

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is an aggressive type of acute myeloid leukemia. Learn more about APL and how it’s diagnosed. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common chronic leukemia in adults.

What happens to your body when you have leukemia?

Leukemia is a type of cancer that affects the body’s blood-forming cells in the bone marrow and lymphatic system. It can take one of several forms and spread at different rates, but most types of leukemia disrupt the production of healthy white blood cells that are designed to multiply, fight infections and die off.

What happens if leukemia is not treated?

If this disease is left untreated, a person with leukemia becomes increasingly susceptible to fatigue, excessive bleeding and infections until, finally, the body becomes virtually defenseless, making every minor injury or infection very serious. Leukemia may be fatal.