Impact of international collaboration on the prognosis of childhood acute promyelocytic leukemia in Iraq

Division of Hematology, Department of Cellular Biotechnologies and Hematology, University La Sapienza, Rome, Italy. testi@bce.uniroma1.it

The promotion of an operational network between hospitals and medical schools in Iraq and in Western countries is a primary humanitarian objective of international collaboration. As a consequence of a collaborative project between the Al Mansour Hospital for Pediatrics in Baghdad and the Pediatric Unit of Hematology of "La Sapienza" University, in Rome, in October 2003 a specific all-trans-retinoic acid-based protocol was designed in order to offer a modern therapeutic program for the management of Iraqi children with acute promyelocytic leukemia, adapted to the severe local difficulties. The preliminary encouraging results represent a substantial improvement over the earlier experience in childhood acute promyelocytic leukemia in Iraq.