| | During this phase of treatment, most AML patients receive a combination of an anthracycline antibiotic (e.g. daunorubicin, doxorubicin or idarubicin) and cytarabine. Both drugs are started at the same time and administered intravenously.
An anthracycline is given within the first three days of treatment, while cytarabine is continued for seven to 10 days. If a remission is not achieved, a second course of induction therapy may be given using the same drugs.
This course of treatment is different for patients with the acute promyelocytic (APL) subtype of AML. Promyelocytes, the next step of blood cell development after myeloblasts, accumulate in the marrow. A derivative of vitamin A, retinoic acid, is administered to these patients before or with chemotherapy.
Retinoic acid induces the leukemic cells to develop into mature cells, decreasing the concentration of promyelocytes in the blood. Chemotherapy is then administered.
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