Tretinoin (all-trans retinoic acid, ATRA)
The vitamin-A derivative that made acute promyelocytic leukaemia the first cancer cured by differentiation therapy rather than by killing cells.
Shanghai (Huang, 1988) reported complete remissions with ATRA alone; combined with chemotherapy and later arsenic trioxide, APL became the most curable adult leukaemia. Differentiation syndrome (capillary leak, fever, pulmonary infiltrates) is treated with dexamethasone. Approved US 1995.
- Medicare
- Part D (self-administered)
Oral, self-administered, so it is a Part D drug: covered through a stand-alone Part D plan or Medicare Advantage drug benefit, usually on the specialty tier with 25 to 33% coinsurance until the annual cap ($2,000 in 2025, $2,100 in 2026). Generic tretinoin capsules.
- Commercial insurance
- covered on label
Multi-source generic on low-cost tiers; usually no prior authorisation. Cash prices without insurance are modest.
Sources: Medicare.gov: Drug coverage (Part D) · Medicare.gov: Costs for Medicare drug coverage (annual out-of-pocket cap). Not medical or financial advice; verify with your plan.
- Notes
- Standard for APL with arsenic trioxide (TA526) or chemotherapy; funded routinely without its own TA.
- NHS England
- Routinely funded for the appraised indication (or via managed access)
Sources: NICE search: tretinoin (ATRA). Funding decisions are indication-specific and change monthly; verify with NICE and your treating team.
Approvals
| Region | Year | Indication |
|---|---|---|
| US | 1995 | Induction of remission in APL (t(15;17)/PML-RARA) |
Trials
topRecruiting now (live from ClinicalTrials.gov)
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Latest papers
topQuery for this drug: (TITLE:"Tretinoin" OR ABSTRACT:"Tretinoin" OR TITLE:"all-trans retinoic acid, ATRA" OR ABSTRACT:"all-trans retinoic acid, ATRA" OR TITLE:"Vesanoid" OR ABSTRACT:"Vesanoid") AND (cancer OR tumor OR tumour OR oncology OR carcinoma OR lymphoma OR leukemia OR leukaemia OR myeloma OR sarcoma OR melanoma OR glioma). Results are unfiltered search hits about Tretinoin (all-trans retinoic acid, ATRA), not a curated reading list.
Pages like this
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