Collaborative Initiation of Therapy for Patients with Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a rare, acute, and highly curable malignancy, yet up to 30% of patients die early after diagnosis from disease-related bleeding or complications exacerbated by delays in initiation of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA)–based induction therapy. In an attempt to decrease early mortality to less than 15%, investigators developed an APL management program that involved rapid initiation of ATRA therapy and the use of a simplified induction treatment algorithm. Consultation from APL experts at academic centers was available to the community site providers around the clock from the time of diagnosis and throughout induction therapy. Six academic and 293 community medical centers across the U.S. participated.

Of 201…