The Dynamic Change of WBC and the Incidence of DS
Combining statistics from NHR and HR patients, the overall dynamic trends of WBC in the ATO and RIF groups during the induction therapy were nearly consistent. Mixed linear model analysis showed that there was no statistical difference between the two groups, p=0.539 (Fig. 1).
Next, we separated NHR and HR patients to analyze. As shown in Fig. 2A, NHR patients in the RIF group had significantly higher WBC at admission and during induction treatment than in the ATO group. However, when the WBC normalized value was used to evaluate the trends of WBC, there was no significant deference between the two groups (Fig. 2C). The WBC of NHR patients from both groups increased in the first week of induction treatment and then decreased, probably due to the administration of MA on day 3. In HR patients, both the trends of WBC and the normalized values were not statistically different between the ATO and RIF groups (Fig. 2B and 2D). The WBC dropped rapidly after induction therapy, which may be related to the use of hydroxyurea at the beginning of induction therapy and the early use of mitoxantrone on the second day of induction therapy.
Moreover, there was no statistical difference in the incidences of moderate and severe DS between the two groups, which was 3.0% and 5.7% in the ATO and RIF group respectively (p = 0.590).