What if the leukemia doesn`t respond or comes back after treatment?
If acute myeloid leukemia (AML) doesn’t go away with the first treatment, newer or stronger doses of chemo drugs may be tried. A stem cell transplant may be tried in younger patients if a matched stem cell donor can be found. Clinical trials of new treatment approaches may also be an option. If the disease comes back after treatment it will most often be in the bone marrow and blood. Rarely the brain or spinal fluid will be the first place it is seen. This would be treated with chemo given right into the spinal fluid. If the leukemia went away and has come back, another remission might be possible, but most doctors think it would be only short-term. They might suggest a stem cell transplant in this case. For fairly small percentage of patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) who don’t respond to the first treatment with ATRA or who have the cancer come back (relapse), a drug called arsenic trioxide (Trisenox) often works well in bringing about a second remission. The most serio
