Inclusion Criteria:

- Age > 12 months (1 year) and < 75 years

- Morphological newly diagnosis of APL

- Presence of the PML-RARa transcript

- No cardiac contraindications to anthracycline chemotherapy

- Serum creatinine <=2.5 mg/dL

- Serum alkaline phosphatase <= 3 times the normal upper limit

- Serum bilirubin <= 3 times the normal upper limit

- Serum SGOT <= 3 times the upper normal limit

- Negative pregnancy test

- Informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

- Age <= 12 months and >=75 years

- absence of the PML-RARa transcript

- Preganant of lactating women

- Presence of active serious infections that are not controlled by antibiotics

- Prior treatment with antileukemic therapy (excluded corticosteroids)

- Presence of severe concomitant psychiatric disease

- Presence of other concomitant malignant tumors, except basal cell carcinoma

- Concurrent treatment with cytotoxic chemotherapy or radiotherapy

- Cardiac contraindications to anthracycline chemotherapy

- Serum creatinine >2.5 mg/dL

- Serum alkaline phosphatase > 3 times the normal upper limit

- Serum bilirubin > 3 times the normal upper limit

- Serum SGOT > 3 times the upper normal limit

- Positive pregnancy test

- Absence of informed consent