Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a malignant and fatal disease. The authors report here for the first time in the world that a chemically synthesized diarsenic trisulfide (DATS, As 2S 3) used alone by mouth can have a remarkable effect in the treatment. The patient is reported to have attained not only hematological/clinical complete remission, but also cytogenetic and molecular biological remission after treatment. A male 47 year old patient with APL which was not treated before was given DATS by mouth from Nov.18, 1998. The dosage was 0.5 g tid. Promyelocytes in his bone marrow were decreased from 90% to normal range. Alongside, there was normalization of blood platelet count and hemoglobin value. He was discharged with hematological remission on Dec.31, 1998, and attained cytogenetic and molecular biological remission in March 1999. The side effect was minimal.
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