Resistance Mechanism of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells Against Daunorubicin and Cytarabine: A Literature Review

Cureus. 2022 Dec 31;14(12):e33165. doi: 10.7759/cureus.33165. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Abstract

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a hematological malignancy commonly found in adult patients. Low overall survival and resistance to therapy are the main issues in AML. The first line of treatment for AML chemotherapy is the induction phase, namely, the phase to induce remission by administering a combination of daunorubicin (DNR) for three days followed by administration of cytarabine (Ara-C) with continuous infusion for seven days, which is referred to as "3 + 7." Such induction therapy has been the standard therapy for AML for the last four decades. This review article is made to discuss daunorubicin and cytarabine from their chemical structure, pharmacodynamics, pharmacokinetics, and mechanisms of resistance in AML.

Keywords: acute myeloid leukemia; aml; chemotherapy; cytarabine; daunorubicin; leukemia; resistance; treatment.

Publication types

  • Review