Early Peripheral Blood Blast Clearance: A New Chemosensitivity Indicator for Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a highly heterogeneous disease, and cytogenetics and molecular markers play important roles in the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of AML. Although cytogenetic karyotypes and molecular mutations are powerful prognostic predictors for outcome of AML patients, indicators of response to initiation chemotherapy have not been identified. In childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a rapid decline of circulating leukemic blasts in response to induction chemotherapy or prednisone is one of the most important prognostic factors, not only for achieving remission but also for long-term survival