Listing of Pharmaceutical Benefits (NHL) - Schedule 4 part 1

Acute Myeloid Leukaemia

Consolidation treatment

Patient must have achieved a complete remission following induction treatment with this drug for this condition; AND

The treatment must be in combination with standard intensive remission consolidation chemotherapy for this condition, which must include cytarabine and an anthracycline; AND

Patient must not receive more than 2 consolidation cycles under this restriction in a lifetime.

This drug is not PBS-subsidised if it is prescribed to an in-patient in a public hospital setting.

A patient who has progressive disease when treated with this drug is no longer eligible for PBS-subsidised treatment with this drug.

Complete remission following induction is defined as fewer than 5% blasts in a normocellular marrow and an absolute neutrophil count of more than 1.0 x 10⁹ cells/L with a platelet count of 100 x 10⁹/L or more in the peripheral blood in the absence of transfusion.

Progressive disease is defined as the presence of any of the following:

a) Leukaemic cells in the CSF;

b) Re-appearance of circulating blast cells in the peripheral blood, not attributable to overshoot following recovery from myeloablative therapy;

c) Greater than 5 % blasts in the marrow not attributable to bone marrow regeneration or another cause;

d) Extramedullary leukaemia.