Daunorubicin-prednisone remission induction with hydroxyurea maintenance in acute non-lymphocytic leukemia

Forty-five adults with acute non-lymphocytic leukemia were treated with daunorubicin and prednisone. Twelve complete and four partial remissions were obtained. On hydroxyurea maintenance, remissions lasted a median of 6 months. The most important factors influencing remission induction were age and sex, and pretreatment absolute blast count. All 14 men over the age of 40 failed to respond while 50% of all other patients responded. Patients with low absolute blast counts were more likely to respond. A review of the literature reveals a similar overall complete remission rate of 26% using daunorubicin alone; thus adding prednisone to daunorubicin does not appear to increase the percentage of complete remissions. Hydroxyurea resulted in longer remissions than have been previously reported following daunorubicin induction; it merits further investigation as a maintenance agent.