Decitabine Versus Conventional Chemotherapy for Maintenance Therapy of Acute Myeloid Leukemia With t(8;21)

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most common hematological malignancies in adult patients with leukemia, and t(8;21) AML accounts for a substantial proportion of AML. AML patients with t(8;21) possess a favorable outcome and 3 - 4 course high dose cytarabine (3 g/m2) is the standard consolidation therapy for these patients with a 5-year overall survival approximately 60%. In China, intermediate dose cytarabine (1 - 2 g/m2) is used for consolidation therapy due to toxicities. After 3 - 4 course cytarabine consolidation, maintenance therapy is performed with conventional chemotherapy with a 5-year overall survival approximately 60% as well. However, continuous chemotherapy may cause toxicities and inhibit patients' immune response. Exploring new drug for maintenance therapy is urgently needed. Decitabine has a potent ability to inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis of AML1-ETO positive leukemia cell line. Furthermore, the immunomodulatory effect of decitabine was also reported by several studies. In this study, the investigators plan to carry out a prospective, multicenter, randomized, controlled trail to compare decitabine versus conventional chemotherapy for maintenance therapy of patients with AML with t(8;21). Results of this trial may optimize the treatment for AML patients with t(8;21) in the setting of intermediate dose cytarabine consolidation.