Treatment of Adult Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia With Intensive Cyclical Chemotherapy: A Follow-up Report

We treated 109 patients with adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) diagnosed by histochemical and immunologic techniques. Patients were excluded only for age greater than 50 years and Burkitt’s leukemia. Treatment included a four-drug remission induction phase followed by alternating cycles of noncrossresistant chemotherapy and prolonged oral maintenance therapy. Eighty-eight percent of patients entered complete remission. With a median follow-up of 77 months (range, 48 to 111 months), 42% 2 6% (SEM) of patients achieving remission are projected to remain diseasefree at 5 years, and disease-free survival for all patients entered on study is 35% f 5%. Failure to achieve remission