Treatment of Psoriasis With Daunorubicin and Cytarabine

To the Editor.— A 66-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital because of acute myelomonocytic leukemia. Her past history indicated that she had had chronic psoriasis that often underwent exacerbations. Traditional treatment given was not satisfactory. On admission, she had extensive psoriatic lesions on her buttocks, knees, and elbows, with additional isolated lesions on her abdomen and chest. Aggressive treatment of leukemia was begun with 100 mg/sq m/ day of intravenous (IV) cytarabine given continuously for seven days and 40 mg/sq m of IV daunorubicin hydrochloride for three consecutive days. There was a dramatic improvement in her psoriasis, and the psoriatic lesions virtually healed. After the induction treatment, she also had a complete hematologic remission. The hematologic remission is currently maintained by a schedule of monthly five-day treatments with 2 × 100 mg/sq m/day of IV cytarabine, 10 mg/sq m/day of IV daunorubicin hydrochloride, and 2 × 100 mg/ sq