Arsenic is used in treatment of

Acute promyelocytic leukemia /Ref Harrison 16th/e p 636] Arsenic trioxide is used in the treatment of Acute promyelocytic leukemia Treatment of Acute promyelocytic leukemia Usually all the cases of AML other than acute promyelocytic leukemia are treated with cytarabine + Anthracycline. But in case of Acute promyelocytic leukemia, these drugs are not used, instead Tretinoin is used for induction. It is a well known fact that acute promyelocytic leukemia may lead to D.I.C. When acute promyelocytic leukemia is treated with anthracycline and cytarabine, DIC is induced by the release of granule components of dying tumour cells. Tretinoin does not produce D.I.C., instead it may produces another complication known as retinoic acid syndrome, which occurs in the first 3 weeks of treatment and is characterized by fever, dyspnoea, chest pain, pulmonary infiltrates, pleural and pericardial effusions. If the patient is refractory to tretinoin therapy, Arsenic trioxide is used : "Arsenic trioxide produces, meaningful response in upto 85% of patients refractory to tretinoin"