A regimen of aclarubicin (ACR) of 75 mg/m2 daily for 3 days plus a continuous intravenous infusion of cytosine arabinoside (ara-C) of 100 mg/m2 per day for 7 days was compared with daunorubicin (DNR) 45 mg/m2/day for 3 days plus ara-C for 7 days as first-line chemotherapy of de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in a randomized, nationwide Danish study. A total of 180 patients aged between 17 and 65 years were entered onto the protocol. Patients who achieved complete remission (CR) were given five courses of intensive consolidation therapy consisting of two courses of high dose ara-C, two courses of amsacrine plus etoposide, and one course of DNR plus ara-C. Of 174 evaluable patients, 99 achieved CR. The rate of CR was significantly higher on ACR plus ara-C than on DNR plus ara-C [66% versus 50% (p = 0.043)] and decreased significantly with increasing age. The hematological toxicity was identical for the two regimens. A total of 83 patients entered consolidation therapy. At 4 years, 37% of patients with CR following ACR were still in remission compared with 33% following DNR (p = 0.48), and the total survival at 4 years was 29% versus 20% (p = 0.26). The duration of remission and total survival both decreased with increasing age. ACR plus ara-C seem at least as good or better than DNR plus ara-C as first-line chemotherapy of AML.

Aberrations of chromosome 6 were observed in 11 of 193 cases of chronic lymphocytic leukemia diagnosed January 1, 1984-November 1, 1988 and investigated cytogenetically within 30 days after diagnosis. The 6p was rearranged in 5 cases: 4 balanced and 1 unbalanced translocation. The 6q was involved in 6 cases: 4 deletions and 2 balanced translocations. Three of the del(6q) may be identical: del(6)(q13q27). In two cases there were no additional aberrations. Aberrations of chromosome 6 correlated significantly with an advanced clinical stage, diffuse pattern of bone marrow infiltration, and increased SmIgM-fluorescence intensity. All these factors are associated with poor prognosis. Although the number of cases with 6q aberrations is still too small and the observation period too short to show significant influence on survival, the presence of 6q aberrations at diagnosis may prove useful in delineating a subtype of chronic lymphocytic leukemia with poor prognosis.

A regimen of aclarubicin (ACR) of 75 mg/m2 daily for 3 days plus a continuous intravenous infusion of cytosine arabinoside (ara-C) of 100 mg/m2 per day for 7 days was compared with daunorubicin (DNR) 45 mg/m2/day for 3 days plus ara-C for 7 days as first-line chemotherapy of de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in a randomized, nationwide Danish study. A total of 180 patients aged between 17 and 65 years were entered onto the protocol. Patients who achieved complete remission (CR) were given five courses of intensive consolidation therapy consisting of two courses of high dose ara-C, two courses of amsacrine plus etoposide, and one course of DNR plus ara-C. Of 174 evaluable patients, 99 achieved CR. The rate of CR was significantly higher on ACR plus ara-C than on DNR plus ara-C [66% versus 50% (p = 0.043)] and decreased significantly with increasing age. The hematological toxicity was identical for the two regimens. A total of 83 patients entered consolidation therapy. At 4 years, 37% of patients with CR following ACR were still in remission compared with 33% following DNR (p = 0.48), and the total survival at 4 years was 29% versus 20% (p = 0.26). The duration of remission and total survival both decreased with increasing age. ACR plus ara-C seem at least as good or better than DNR plus ara-C as first-line chemotherapy of AML.

One hundred and eighty consecutive patients who met the criteria for eligibility were randomized to induction therapy consisting of continuous infusion of cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C) 100 mg/m2 i.v. every 24 h for 7 days plus either an i.v. bolus of daunorubicin (DNR) 45 mg/m2 (>60 years, 30 mg/m2) daily on days 1–3 or a 1-h i.v. infusion of aclarubicin (ACR) 75 mg/m2 (>60 years, 50 mg) daily on days 1–3. Patients who did not achieve complete remission (CR) were given a second course of 5 days Ara-C and 2 days DNR or ACR. All patients who attained CR were planned to have a common intensification schedule of five series. Series 1 and 3 consisted of Ara-C 3 g/m2 i.v. every 12 h on days 1–4 (patients >60 years, days 1–3), series 2 and 4 of amsacrine 90 mg/m2 (patients >60 years, 60 mg) and etoposide 100 mg/m2 daily for 5 days and series 5 of DNR 45 mg/m2 (>60 years, 30 mg) daily on days 1–3 plus Ara-C 100 mg/m2 every 24 h on days 1–7.

During the last 8 years (1971–1979) all newly diagnosed previously untreated patients with Hodgkin's disease in Denmark have been centralized to uniform staging procedures and treatment. A total of 802 patients were registered, or 2 patients /100 000. Lymphangiography was performed in 708 patients (88%), and 437 patients (55%) underwent laparotomy with splenectomy. Treatment included radiotherapy, combination chemotherapy (MOPP or similar programmes), and combined modality treatment. The overall 8‐year actuarial survival for all stages combined was 66%, and relapse‐free survival was 55%. 144 patients died of Hodgkin's disease, 23 from complications to therapy and examination procedures, and 54 died of unrelated causes. Survival was significantly better for patients without B‐symptoms, and decreased gradually with advancing age. There was a strong correlation between unfavourable prognosis and advancing stage and/or histology, but mediastinal involvement had no influence upon the prognosis. Staging laparotomy was associated with 4 deaths due to infection, and splenectomy with 10 cases of severe pneumococcal infections, 4 of which were fatal. Fatal complications due to subsequent treatment included 2 cases of cardiac arrest following mantle‐field irradiation and 3 cases of haemorrhage or sepsis following Chemotherapy. 5 cases of acute myeloid leukaemia were observed.

In a multi-centre study in which data from all Danish Hodgkin patients have been registered since 1971, all patients in supradiaphragmatic stages I or II, as confirmed by staging laparotomy, were randomized to either radiotherapy (RT) to supra- and infradiaphragmatic lymph node regions (total nodal irradiation, TNI), or RT to a mantle field followed by 6 cycles of MOPP combination chemotherapy (RT+CT). Interim results up to July 1979, when 237 patients had entered the study, showed a treatment failure rate of 19/117 in the TNI group and 4/120 in the RT+CT group (P less than 0.05). 19 of the 23 relapsing patients were under the age of 40, and 14 in the TNI group and 3 in the RT+CT group belonged to stage II. 13 patients had nodular sclerosis, 9 had mixed cellularity and 1 had lymphocytic predominance histology. 12 of 19 relapsing patients in the TNI group had hilar or mediastinal involvement as against 51 of the 117 patients in the entire group. Most of the TNI failures could be retreated, and as yet there is no difference in the overall survival.