The researchers note these data show that the advantage of ATRA- arsenic trioxide (ATO) over ATRA-chemotherapy increases over time and that the inclusion of ATO in the treatment of this population not only reduces mortality and haematologic toxicity, but also results in improved and sustained antileukaemic activity. They add that neither additional fatal events nor further relapses were recorded in patients randomly assigned to ATRA-ATO in this extended cohort. They conclude that, in line with results of pilot studies and those of the recent randomised NCRI trial, their study supports the use of ATRA-ATO in patients with newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL) and point to this strategy as the new standard of care for low- or intermediate-risk patients. They add that studies exploring the role of ATR-AATO are warranted in other APL subsets including high-risk, paediatric, and elderly patients.