Comparison of therapeutic efficacy between CAG regimen and decitabine combined with half dose CAG regimen in treatment of elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia

Abstract

Objective To explore the therapeutic efficacy and adverse effects of decitabine combined with half dose CAG regimen and only CAG regimen for the elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Methods A total of 42 elderly patients with AML aged between 65 and 75 years old (except for acute promyelocytic leukemia) admitted into Heze Municipal Hospital from August 2013 to August 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. They were divided into treatment group and control group according to the different chemotherapy regimens. Twenty patients in the treatment group were treated with decitabine combined with half dose CAG regimen (recombinant granulocyte colony stimulating factor+ cytarabine+ aclarubicin), and 22 patients in the control group were treated with CAG regimen. Results After the first course of treatment, in treatment group, 13 cases achieved complete remission (CR), 3 cases achieved partial remission (PR), 4 cases achieved non-remission (NR), and the total efficacy (CR+PR) rate was 80.0% (16/20). In control group, 8 cases (36%) achieved CR, 2 cases achieved PR, 12 cases achieved NR, and the total efficacy rate was 45.5% (10/22). The difference in total effective rate between the two groups was statistically significant (χ2= 3.707, P= 0.035). There was no significant difference in the bone marrow recovery time, the infusion of red blood cells and platelets between the two groups (all P > 0.05). Conclusion The therapeutic efficacy of decitabine combined with half dose CAG regimen is better than that of CAG regimen, the adverse effects are all tolerated, and it can be served as the prior therapy for elderly AML patients. Key words: Leukemia, myeloid, acute; Aged; Antineoplastic combined chemotherapy protocol