OBJECTIVETo investigate the efficacy of arsenic trioxide combined with all trans retinoic acid (ATRA) for patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL).

METHODSA total of 159 cases of APL were selected from January 2011 to December 2014 in our hospital, among them 75 cases were treated by As₂O₃combined with ATRA, 43 cases were treated with As₂O₃alone, 41 cases were treated with ATRA alone. The cardiac enzymes level, lever function index change, death rate, complate remission (CR) rate, time of reaching CR and complicatiens were compared in 3 groups.

RESULTSAfter treatment of 8 courses, ALT and AST levels in As₂O₃+ ATRA group were significantly higher than those in As₂O₃and ATRA alone groups; the CK-MB and TnI-UI index increased in As₂O₃group (P < 0.05); as compared with As₂O₃group, the mortality and CR rate in As₂O₃+ ATRA group were no significant different, but the time of reaching CR was significantly shortened. For relapsed patients, the CR rate in As₂O₃+ ATRA group was no significantly different from that in As₂O₃group, while was significantly higher than that in ATRA group. The ratio of liver function damage in As₂O₃+ ATRA group was increased, moreover the incidence of leukocytosis and headache in ATRA group was significantly higher than that in As₂O₃+ ATRA and As₂O₃group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONSThe efficacy of As₂O₃conbined with ATRA for inducing remission is better than that of single drug treatment, moreover the adverse reactions occur less.