Epidemiology and Treatment of Acute

Distinct epidemiological characteristics have been described in Acute Promielocytic Leukemia (APL). Populations from Latin America have a higher incidence of APL and in some geographic areas a distinct distribution of the PML main differences in APL epidemilogy in Latin America as well as treatment outcomes. Introduction. Geographical variations in frequency and clinical characteristics of hematological malignancies in patients from Europe/US and those from Latin America have been described in lymphoid malignancies, and to a lesser extend in myeloid neoplasms. Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL) is a distinct type of myeloid leukemia characterized by its invariable association with chromosomal translocations involving the Retinoid Acid Receptor  chromosome 17. The breakpoints in clustered in relatively short span in intron 3. Likewise, the breakpoints in the Promyelocytic Leukemia gene, the main partner of RARA in APL rearrangements, are clustered in three regions: one in exon 3 originating the short form type of fusion gene, or bcr3, and two in exon 6: the long form, or bcr1 and the variable form, or bcr2. that the PML-RARA is detected in more than 98% of patients with APL, the disease is a paradigm of acute www.mjhid.org ISSN 2035-3006 Promyelocytic Leukemia in Latin America