White Blood Cell Count Nadir and Duration of Aplasia Do Not Associate with Treatment Outcome in Adult Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia Undergoing Intensive Chemotherapy

Adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are usually treated with intensive chemotherapy, leading to prolonged bone marrow aplasia. It is usually assumed that a short duration of aplasia could be a surrogate marker of poor therapeutic efficacy in clearing bone marrow blasts, especially in older patients. No studies have evaluated the usefulness of such a surrogate marker in younger AML patients treated with intensive chemotherapy.