This is the first treatment given after diagnosis and is intended to kill the majority of the leukaemia cells and induce complete remission.
It normally includes a combination of chemotherapy drugs and is generally administered in hospital over about eight weeks.
- Complete remission occurs when the blood cell counts have returned within normal limits, and less than 5% of leukaemia cells are still present in the bone marrow.
- Complete molecular remission means there is no evidence of leukaemia cells anywhere in the body even at a molecular level, i.e., no MRD is present.
- Possibility of tumour lysis syndrome: In the event of sudden rapid destruction of the white blood cells, the leukaemia cells release uric acid, potassium, and phosphorus in the blood faster than the kidney can excrete them. These raised levels of electrolytes can cause damage to the kidneys, heart or liver. This is known as tumour lysis syndrome
