The role of anthracyclines in adult acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

The role of anthracyclines (ANT) in the treatment of adult acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) is poorly defined as regards drug dosage, schedule, preferable compound, and indications for use in specific treatment phases or disease subset. We therefore reviewed ANT treatment results in adult ALL. Altogether, an early and intensive use of ANT would improve both initial response rate and long-term disease-free survival; idarubicin (IDR) exhibits a considerable antileukaemic activity deserving further evaluation as possible reference drug; and the prognosis of CD10+ t(9;22)/BCR-ABL- ALL can be particularly good following an early dose-intensive ANT consolidation program.