Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is characterized by an increase in the number of myeloid cells in the marrow and an arrest in their maturation, frequently resulting in hematopoietic insufficiency (granulocytopenia, thrombocytopenia, or anemia), with or without leukocytosis. In the United States, the annual incidence of AML is approximately 2.4 per 100,000,1 and it increases progressively with age, to a peak of 12.6 per 100,000 adults 65 years of age or older. Until the 1970s, the diagnosis was based solely on the pathological and cytologic examination of bone marrow and blood. Five-year survival rates during this period were less than 15 . . .