Prof Fabio Efficace speaks to ecancer about patient reported outcomes from the phase 3 APOLLO trial evaluating arsenic trioxide in combination with all trans retinoic acid compared with standard all trans retinoic acid plus chemotherapy in newly diagnosed high risk acute promyelocytic leukaemia.

While prior results demonstrated superior clinical efficacy with the chemotherapy free regimen, this analysis focuses on health related quality of life and fatigue outcomes.

At the end of consolidation therapy, patients treated with arsenic trioxide plus all trans retinoic acid experienced statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in multiple quality of life domains, including physical functioning, fatigue, nausea and vomiting, and appetite loss.

Fatigue benefits were consistently observed across both EORTC QLQ C30 and FACIT Fatigue assessments, exceeding established thresholds for clinical relevance. Additional improvements were seen in global health status and social and role functioning.

These findings highlight that beyond improving survival outcomes, arsenic trioxide based therapy offers a meaningful quality of life advantage over chemotherapy based treatment in high risk acute promyelocytic leukemia, supporting its use as a preferred frontline approach.