Major Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatments

Phases Of Treatment

Acute myeloid leukemia treatment is broken up into phases. The first phase of treatment is called induction. During induction, the objective is to remove all leukemia cells from the blood and bone marrow with the use of intense drugs and chemotherapy. The next phase of treatment is called consolidation, where more chemotherapy is given to the patient once they have recovered from the induction phase. The objective of consolidation is to eliminate any leftover leukemia cells. The chemotherapy is administered in cycles with each block of treatment being followed by a period of rest to allow the patient's body to recover.

The third phase of treatment for acute myeloid leukemia is called the maintenance or post-consolidation phase. The maintenance phase is not used for every type of acute myeloid leukemia. When it is used, it involves spread out cycles of low dose chemotherapy for several months or years after the completion of the consolidation phase.