It is a consensus among hematologists that treatment should be started as soon as possible after the diagnosis of acute leukemia, and patients and their families are often anxious to get treatment as soon as possible, fearing that a slight delay may affect the efficacy of treatment. However, there are times when treatment cannot be started immediately for various reasons, such as waiting for the results of laboratory tests, when patients must first receive supportive treatment to improve their general condition due to infection, or when hospital beds are temporarily stretched, etc. A study by doctors from the University of Toulouse, France, and others on 599 patients with primary AML showed that a short-term delay in the start of chemotherapy after diagnosis did not affect patient outcomes or prognosis for patients with AML. Therefore, the start of chemotherapy may be delayed appropriately if it is necessary to obtain accurate diagnostic information, the patient’s general condition needs to be corrected, etc. Of course, targeted chemotherapy should be started as early as possible, conditions permitting. An increasing number of genetic alterations have been identified in AML, and related gene-targeted therapeutic strategies are being developed. In order to maximize the potential benefits of gene targeted therapy and develop better treatment strategies, it is sometimes necessary to wait for the results of laboratory tests, such as chromosomal and genetic testing, before treatment can begin, potentially delaying the start of chemotherapy. There can be concerns about whether this delay will affect treatment remission rates and long-term survival. Physicians et al. conducted a retrospective study of 599 newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia cases to look at the effect of time from diagnosis to treatment on early efficacy, mortality and overall survival. The median time from diagnosis to treatment was 8 days, with a range of 4-16 days, with longer delays in patients with white blood cell counts and older patients. In multivariate analysis, there was no effect (p = 0.4095) on overall survival (whether chemotherapy was started within 5 days of diagnosis or after 5 days), with factors affecting survival being age >60 years, secondary acute myeloid leukemia, leukocytes >50 x109/liter, high-risk group as defined by the European Leukemia Network, and physical fitness status. In addition, there was no relationship with early efficiency and early mortality. Therefore, waiting a shorter time after the diagnosis of AML in order to obtain more precise laboratory data to design a better treatment plan seems to be possible.