Background:

The use of all-transretinoic acid together with chemotherapy has improved the prognosis of patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). However, less than 20% still die prematurely, mainly from hemorrhage.

Objective:

The objective of this study was to identify the utility of the PETHEMA score and complete blood count (CBC) score for the detection of patients with APL at risk of premature death.

Materials and methods:

A retrospective observational study in patients with de novo APL treated between 2001 and 2015 at Hospital General de México.

Results:

Among the 79 patients studied, the mean age was 35 years (17-57 years). According to the PETHEMA score, most patients were deemed low risk (n = 34, 42.5%) followed by high-risk (n = 25, 31%) and intermediate-risk patients (n = 21, 26.3%). As per the CBC score, 16.3% (n = 13), 31.3% (n = 25) and 52.5% of patients (n = 42) were considered as low-risk (0 points), intermediate-risk (1 and 2 points), and high-risk patients, respectively (3 points). Overall survival at 5 years was 73%, with a lower rate in those patients considered as high risk for the two scales. Individually, both thrombocytopenia and elevated fibrinogen levels were associated with premature death.

Conclusion:

The PETHEMA score, like the CBC score, allows for the identification of patients at risk of premature death, with as thrombocytopenia is an independent risk factor.

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