Acute promyelocytic leukemia is a subtype of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), a cancer of the blood and bone marrow. It is also known as acute progranulocytic leukemia; APL; AML with t(15;17)(q24;q21), PML-RARA and variants; FAB subtype M3 and M3 variant.
In APL, there is an abnormal accumulation of immature granulocytes called promyelocytes. The disease is characterized by a chromosomal translocation involving the retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARĪ± or RARA) gene and is unique from other forms of AML in its responsiveness to all trans retinoic acid (ATRA) therapy.
Acute promyelocytic leukemia was first characterized in 1957. From 1950s until the elucidation of its developmental mechanisms in the 1970s, APL had a 100% mortality rate as there was no effective treatment.
Read more about Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia: Signs and Symptoms, Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, Treatment
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