FLAG Regimen with or without Idarubicin in Children with Relapsed/Refractory Acute Leukemia: Experience from a Turkish Pediatric Hematology Center
Journal Title: Turkish Journal of Hematology - Year 2017, Vol 34, Issue 1
Abstract
Objective: The optimal therapy to achieve higher rates of survival in pediatric relapsed/refractory acute leukemia (AL) is still unknown. In developing countries, it is difficult to obtain some of the recent drugs for optimal therapy and mostly well-known drugs proven to be effective are used. We assessed the efficacy of the combination of fludarabine, high-dose cytarabine, and granulocyte colonystimulating factor (FLAG regimen) with or without idarubicin (IDA) in children with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia. Materials and Methods: Between September 2007 and May 2015, 18 children with refractory/relapsed AL attending our center, treated with a FLAG regimen with or without IDA, were included. The primary end point was the remission status of the bone marrow sampled after the first/second course of chemotherapy. The second end point was the duration of survival after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Results: Complete remission (CR) was achieved in 7 patients (38.8%) after the first cycle, and at the end of the second cycle the total number of patients in CR was 8 (42.1%). All patients in CR underwent HSCT. The CR rate in patients who had IDA in combination therapy was 28.6%, and it was 50% in patients treated without IDA (p=0.36). Mean survival duration in transplanted patients was 24.7±20.8 months (minimum-maximum: 2-70, median: 25 months), and it was 2.7±1.64 months (minimum-maximum: 0-5, median: 3 months) in nontransplanted patients. Five of them (27.7%) were still alive at the end of the study and in CR. The median time of follow-up for these patients was 33 months (minimum-maximum: 25-70 months). Conclusion: FLAG regimens with or without IDA produced a CR of >24 months in 27.7% of children with relapsed/refractory AL and can be recommended as therapeutic options prior to HSCT in developing countries.
Authors and Affiliations
Şebnem Yılmaz Bengoa, Eda Ataseven, Deniz Kızmazoğlu, Fatma Demir Yenigürbüz, Melek Erdem, Hale Ören
Keywords
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- EP ID EP224030
- DOI 10.4274/Tjh.2015.0411
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