Prolonged administration of low-dose cytarabine and thioguanine in elderly patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) achieves high complete remission rates and prolonged survival.

The prognosis of AML in elderly patients is poor and research into novel therapeutic approaches is urgently needed. This study examined the use of low-dose chemotherapy with cytarabine and thioguanine administered in repetitive cycles in 62 elderly patients with newly diagnosed or relapsed/refractory AML. The overall response rate was 58% in the total cohort.