Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Correspondence
  • Published:

Treatment strategy and long-term results in pediatric patients treated in two consecutive AML-GATLA trials

Leukemia volume 19, pages 2139–2142 (2005)Cite this article

TO THE EDITOR

The treatment of acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) has been considerably modified over the years. The Argentine Group for the Treatment of Acute Leukemia (GATLA) was created in 1967 with the purpose of investigating and promoting the development of treatment strategies in acute leukemia. GATLA developed seven consecutive trials for pediatric AML treatment between 1967 and 1997. The complete remission (CR) rate of the 272 children allocated to the first five protocols performed between 1967 and 1983 was 50%. Event-free survival (EFS) at 60 months was only 3%; the median duration of continuous CR was 9 months. In an attempt to improve these results, GATLA adopted the BFM strategies in 1983. From then to 1997, 368 eligible patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) were treated according to two consecutive trials: AML-GATLA 83 and AML-GATLA 90.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1
Figure 2

References

  1. Freigeiro D, Scaglione C, Santarelli MT, Sackmann Muriel F, Jiménez E, Pavlovsky S et al. Progresos en el tratamiento de la leucemia mieloide aguda en niños. Experiencia del GATLA/GLATHEM 1967–1987. Sangre 1989; 34: 221–228.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Sackmann-Muriel F, Fernández Barbieri MA, Santarelli MT, Matus-Ridley M, Rosso A, Negri-Aranguren P et al. Results of treatment with an intensive combination induction regimen containing idarubicin in children with acute myeloblastic leukemia: preliminary report of the Argentine Group for treatment of acute leukemia. Semin Oncol 1993; 20: 34–38.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Creutzig U, Ritter J, Riehm H, Langermann HJ, Henze G, Kabisch H et al. Improve treatment results in childhood acute myelogenous leukemia: a report of the German Cooperative Study AML-BFM-78. Blood 1985; 65: 298–304.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Creutzig U, Ritter J, Zimmermann M, Schellong G, for the AML-BFM Study Group. Does cranial irradiation reduce the risk for bone marrow relapse in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML): unexpected results of the childhood AML Study BFM-87. J Clin Oncol 1993; 11: 279–286.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Webb DKH, Wheatley K, Harrison G, Stevens RF, Hann IM . Outcome for children with relapsed acute myeloid leukaemia following initial therapy in the Medical Research Council (MRC) AML trial. Leukemia 1999; 13: 25–31.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Creutzig U, Ritter J, Zimmermann M, Hermann J, Gadner H, Blütters D et al. Idarubicin improves blast cell clearance during induction therapy in children with AML: results of study AML-BFM 93. Leukemia 2001; 15: 348–354.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Lehrnbecher T, Varwig D, Kaiser J, Reinhardt D, Klingebiel T, Creutzig U . Infectious complications in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia: analysis of the prospective multi-institutional clinical trial AML-BFM 93. Leukemia 2004; 18: 72–77.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Chessells JM, Harrison CJ, Kempski H, Webb DKH, Wheatley K, Hann IM et al. Clinical features, cytogenetics and outcome in acute lymphoblastic and myeloid leukaemia of infancy: report from the MRC Chilhood Leukaemia Working party. Leukemia 2002; 16: 776–784.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Drs Ursula Creutzig and Gertjan Kaspers for critical reading of the manuscript. We also thank Dr Martin Zimmermann for help in statistical analysis and Ms Ana Becu for assisting in data management.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Servicio de Hematologia, Hospital Sor M Ludovica, La Plata, Argentina

    H Armendariz

  2. Servicio de Onco-Hematologia, Hospital Materno-Infantil, San Isidro, Argentina

    M A Fernandez Barbieri

  3. Servicio de Hematologia, Hospital R Gutierrez, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    D Freigeiro

  4. Centro de Estadística del GATLA, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    F Lastiri

  5. Servicio de Hemato-Oncologia, Hospital de Pediatria Garrahan, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    M S Felice

  6. Servicio de Onco-Hematologia, Hospital Italiano, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    E Dibar

Authors
  1. H Armendariz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M A Fernandez Barbieri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. D Freigeiro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. F Lastiri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. M S Felice
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. E Dibar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Consortia

on behalf of the GATLA Group Buenos Aires, Argentina

Corresponding author

Correspondence to H Armendariz.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Armendariz, H., Fernandez Barbieri, M., Freigeiro, D. et al. Treatment strategy and long-term results in pediatric patients treated in two consecutive AML-GATLA trials. Leukemia 19, 2139–2142 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2403854

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2403854

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links