[Mitoxantrone, etoposide, and cytarabine combination therapy for acute myeloid leukemia patients failing to achieve a complete remission after induction chemotherapy: a single-center experience].

Optimal salvage chemotherapy has not been established for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who fail to attain complete remission (CR) after one course of induction chemotherapy. This retrospective study aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of an MEC (mitoxantrone, 6 mg/m, 1-3 days; etoposide, 80 mg/m, 1-6 days; cytarabine, 1 g/m, 1-6 days) regimen in patients with AML who failed to attain CR after one course of induction chemotherapy. Twenty-four patients were included in this study (median age, 58 years; range, 28-79 years). After one course of MEC, 11 patients (45.8%) attained CR. Febrile neutropenia was observed in all patients, and acute infection was observed in 7 patients (29.2%). However, no therapy-related death occurred. All patients eligible for transplantation and who attained CR after MEC salvage chemotherapy underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The MEC regimen exhibited a good response rate with tolerable adverse events. Therefore, the MEC regimen can be safely used as a salvage treatment for patients with AML who failed to attain CR after one course of induction chemotherapy.