The Finnish Leukaemia Group: Levamisole in Maintenance Therapy of Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Adults

The Finnish Leukaemia Group has carried out a randomized, multicenter trial to study the effect of levamisole on the remission maintained with 6-mercaptopurine and methotrexate in acute myeloid leukaemia in adults. Levamisole was given on 3 consecutive days every 2 weeks. Twenty-five patients received only chemotherapy, while 26 patients received levamisole as well. The patients receiving levamisole showed significantly better remission duration than those given only chemotherapy (P = 0.033, Mantel’s summary χ2-test). There are four long term survivors in the levamisole group versus none in the chemotherapy group. The remissions have lasted 48–75 months.