Since the introduction of the vitamin A derivative all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) as front-line therapy for APL, the outcome of this acute leukemia subtype has changed from the state of a most frequently fatal leukemia to the condition of a highly curable disease. The Italian cooperative group GIMEMA designed in 1993 the AIDA (Atra plus IDArubicin) trial for newly diagnosed APL. Results on over 800 patients showed a complete remission (CR) rate > 90% and an overall survival of 76% and confirmed that the concomitant administration of ATRA and chemotherapy is more effective than the sequential administration. Following the identification of distinct prognostic categories among APL patients, the GIMEMA group designed a new trial (AIDA2000) in which the intensity of post-remission treatment was adapted to the relapse risk and 498 patients were enrolled since January 2000. The results recently published showed a CR rate >90% with molecular remission rate after third consolidation of 98%. The new schedule allowed a Disease Free Survival (DFS) of 86% and showed that a risk-adapted strategy including ATRA for consolidation provides an outcome improvement in newly diagnosed patients. As reported by an international panel of experts, simultaneous ATRA and anthracycline chemotherapy schedules such as those used in the AIDA protocols represent the state of the art therapy for newly diagnosed APL.