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Spotlight on Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia

Spotlight on acute promyelocytic leukemia: controversies and challenges

Leukemia volume 16, pages 1893–1895 (2002)Cite this article

Fifteen years ago, reports of the efficacy of retinoic acid in the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia propelled the study of APL to the forefront of the leukemia field.1 Since then, discoveries in APL continuously revolutionized and have had a profound impact on the study of cancer biology and experimental therapeutics. Many ‘firsts’ resulted from these studies including the first successful differentiation therapy, the first molecular targeted therapy against a causative oncoprotein, the first application of principles of eukaryotic transcription to cancer biology, etc. In spite of this wealth of research, many questions remain. Indeed, early models of APL pathophysiology and clinical management are constantly being revised in light of new and increasingly complex data.

A number of issues are still unresolved including, but not limited to such questions as:

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Acknowledgements

Many thanks to Dr Nicole Muller Bérat Killman and Dr Michel Lanotte for constant support, suggestions and guidance in organizing and implementing this project.

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  1. Department of Developmental and Molecular Biology and Albert Einstein Cancer Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA

    A Melnick

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Melnick, A. Spotlight on acute promyelocytic leukemia: controversies and challenges. Leukemia 16, 1893–1895 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2402757

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