Leukemias defining terms

A cure in oncology implies that the cancer is completely gone, and the patient will have the same life expectancy as a patient without cancer. A complete response (CR) refers to complete disappearance of all cancer for 1 month after treatment. A partial response (PR) is defined as a 50% decrease in tumor diameter along with no new disease for 1 month. The term overall objective response rate refers to the combination of PR and CR. Stable disease refers to tumor that has not grown and has shrunk by less than 25% of the diameter. Disease progression refers to tumor that has spread or the primary tumor has increased in size by 25%. Some cancers, such as leukemia, cannot be measured by size, so biopsy of the bone marrow provides a cellular indication of absence or presence of disease. 

The short-term goal of treatment for acute leukemia is to rapidly achieve a complete chnical and hematologic remission. In the absence of a CR, a rapid and fatal outcome is inevitable. Complete remission is defined as the disappearance of aU clinical and bone marrow evidence (normal ceUularity >20% with <5% blasts) of leukemia, with restoration of normal hematopoiesis (neutrophils >l,500/mm and platelets >100,000/mm ). Partial remission is a significant response... 

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