Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia

Dear Colleagues,

Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a distinct subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) ,cytogenetically characterized by a balanced reciprocal translocation between chromosomes 15 and 17, which results in the fusion between promyelocytic leukemia (PML) gene and retinoic acid receptor-α (RARα). Because of a severe bleeding tendency often resulting in an early fatal course, APL has historically been considered as one of the most fatal forms of acute leukemia. Advances in therapy, including anthracycline- and cytarabine-based chemotherapy, have significantly improved the outcome. Additionally, the introduction of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) and, more recently, the development of arsenic trioxide (ATO)-containing regimens has transformed APL to the most curable form of AML in adults. Treatment with these new agents introduced the concept of cure through targeted therapy. With the revolutionary ATRA–ATO combination therapies, chemotherapy may now safely be omitted, at least in low-risk APL patients. Concomitantly, expert panels have recommended that molecular remission should be considered a therapeutic objective in APL, and molecular response has been adopted as a study endpoint in modern clinical trials.

APL is the best example of how targeted therapies can trigger definitive cures. ATRA–ATO combination therapy is the first model of molecular target-based therapy and represents, with the introduction of tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy in chronic myeloid leukemia, one of the major advances in therapy for hematological disease over the last three decades, having paved the way in which cancer should be treated. However, open issues remain, notably regarding the type of ATO schedule and the refinements in strategies in high-risk APL. Other areas of ongoing needs include efforts to decrease the early death rate, to define APL treatments in children and in case of post-ATO relapses, and to introduce a new drug formula with the attempt to give only oral ambulatory therapy.

This Special Issue will highlight the current state of the art in APL with future prospects for improving therapies and recall the constant progresses made over the last decades that have yielded APL status to evolve from highly fatal to highly curable.

Dr. Xavier Thomas
Dr Maël Heiblig
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Cancers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.