Hydroxyurea prior to intensive chemotherapy in AML with moderate leukocytosis

Hydroxyurea (HU) is an oral anti-proliferative drug that interferes with DNA synthesis by inhibiting ribonucleotide reductase. HU has long been used in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) for cytoreduction as part of best supportive care, or as a prephase before intensive chemotherapy in patients with an elevated white blood cell (WBC) count [1]. A recent retrospective study showed that a pre-treatment with HU prior to intensive chemotherapy could improve short-term survival of patients with hyperleukocytic AML (HL-AML, WBC>50.109/L), but not complete remission (CR) or relapse-free survival (RFS) [2].

Source: Leukemia Research - October 30, 2018 Category: Hematology Authors: Sarah Bertoli, Suzanne Tavitian, Muriel Picard, Fran çoise Huguet, François Vergez, Eric Delabesse, Audrey Sarry, Emilie Bérard, Christian Récher Tags: Letter to the Editor Source Type: research