Persistent molecular remission of refractory acute myeloid leukemia with inv(16)(p13.1q22) in an elderly patient induced by cytarabine ocfosfate hydrate

The prognosis of relapsed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in elderly patients is dismal, even if the AML exhibits a good prognostic karyotype, such as inv(16)(p13.1q22). We present a 72-year-old female with AML with inv(16)(p13.1q22) who suffered five episodes of relapse with temporary complete remission. Maintenance chemotherapy with oral cytarabine ocfosfate hydrate eventually produced persistent molecular complete remission of her AML that had not been induced by conventional regimens including intensive chemotherapy and low dose cytarabine therapy. The high level of tolerability to oral cytarabine ocfosfate hydrate may offer elderly patients with this type of AML a good chance for a cure. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13045-014-0100-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.