Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a subset of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) which is characterized by the fusion of promyelocytic leukemia PML and retinoic acid receptor- alpha (RAR-alpha) genes. Alltrans retinoic acid (ATRA) and/or arsenic trioxide (ATO) have resulted in durable cytogenetic and molecular remissions in most APL patients and have altered the natural history of the disease. |