Management of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) in Older Patients

Future Oncology, 2015

American journal of blood research, 2013

Patients over age 60 comprise the majority of those diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), but treatment approaches in this population are variable, with many uncertainties and controversies. Our group conducted a literature review to summarize the latest information and to develop a consensus document with practical treatment recommendations. We addressed five key questions: selection criteria for patients to receive intensive induction chemotherapy; optimal induction and post-remission regimens; allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT); treatment of patients not suitable for induction chemotherapy; and treatment of patients with prior hematological disorders or therapy-related AML. Relevant literature was identified through a PubMed search of publications from 1991 to 2012. Key findings included the recognition that cytogenetics and molecular markers are major biologic determinants of treatment outcomes in the older population, both during induction therapy ...

Aging Health, 2007

In recent years, major advances have been made in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in younger patients, but the prognosis for elderly AML patients remains poor. This review focuses on current and emerging data on the treatment of AML in the elderly. Most elderly patients are not considered for induction therapy. Cytarabine and anthracycline combination therapies induce remission in up to 50% of cases of newly diagnosed AML, and the median survival duration ranges between 5 and 10 months. Targeted therapies such as monoclonal antibodies (gemtuzumab ozogamicin), farnesyltransferase inhibitors (tipifarnib), tyrosine kinase inhibitors (lestaurtinib) and hypomethylating agents (decitabine and valproic acid) are being investigated in elderly patients with AML. Autologous and reduced-intensity allogeneic stem cell transplantation has been used in selected patients.

Cancers

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in older patients is characterized by unfavorable prognosis due to adverse disease features and a high rate of treatment-related complications. Classical therapeutic options range from intensive chemotherapy in fit patients, potentially followed by allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT), to hypomethylating agents or palliative care alone for unfit/frail ones. In the era of precision medicine, the treatment paradigm of AML is rapidly changing. On the one hand, a plethora of new targeted drugs with good tolerability profiles are becoming available, offering the possibility to achieve a prolonged remission to many patients not otherwise eligible for more intensive therapies. On the other hand, better tools to assess patients’ fitness and improvements in the selection and management of those undergoing allo-HCT will hopefully reduce treatment-related mortality and complications. Importantly, a detailed genetic characterization of AML has be...

Leukemia Research, 2001

A retrospective analysis was performed on 263 consecutive patients aged over 60 with de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML) diagnosed in a single institution between 1979 and 1998. Eighty-nine patients (33%) received only palliative treatment, while 174 patients (67%) were treated with different intensive chemotherapy regimens. The 5-and 10-year overall survival (OS) for the whole series was 7.7 91.2 and 4.3 9 1.6%, respectively. For patients receiving chemotherapy, OS was 10.5 9 2.5 and 7 9 2.6%, while for those patients receiving supportive treatment it was 1.1 9 1.1 and 0%, respectively (P = 0.002). Within the group of patients receiving chemotherapy, the complete remission (CR) rate was 46%; treatment failure rate was 54% (36% due to treatment-related mortality and 18% due to resistant disease). Variables influencing CR rate were FAB subtype, CD7 positivity, chemotherapy regimen, creatinine level, hepatomegaly, and period of diagnosis. Median disease-free survival (DFS) duration was 8.4 months with a probability of being disease-free at 10 years of 10 9 5%. There were no significant differences in DFS according to age. According to the period of diagnosis (1979-1986 vs. 1987-1998), improvements in the CR rate (27 vs. 56%, P = 0.0002), and OS (10.9 vs. 15.7 months, P =0.0007) were observed. This large single-center study of unselected de novo AML elderly patients substantiates the progressive improvement achieved in the management of elderly patients with AML, probably due to an improvement in supportive care and the administration of conventional induction chemotherapy.

Annals of Oncology, 2005

Background: Acute Myelogenous Leukemia (AML) is a common disease in people aged >60 years. About 50% of the patients are not eligible for aggressive chemotherapy (CT) and are only managed with conservative approaches. Results in this subset of patients have not been reported so far.

Current Geriatrics Reports, 2017

Purpose of review-To describe the pathology, impact of comorbidities, functional limitations, symptoms, and quality of life (QOL) related to treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in older adults. Recent findings-AML is a rare aggressive hematologic disease that occurs most often in older adults. The prognosis for older patients with AML is markedly worse due to genetic mutations and patient characteristics such as comorbidities and functional limitations. Patient characteristics may influence treatment decisions, as well as impact symptoms, functional ability, health-related outcomes and (QOL). Summary-As the population continues to age, the number of people diagnosed with AML is expected to increase. Better management of comorbidities is imperative to improving QOL and other treatment related outcomes. Prospective, longitudinal and multi-site studies are warranted to further understand the interaction between these characteristics on symptoms, outcomes and QOL.

Cancer, 2017

The development of newer strategies to improve outcomes for older patients with secondary acute myeloid leukemia (s-AML) is a critical unmet need. Establishing baseline metrics for evaluating newer approaches is important. s-AML was defined as 1 or more of the following: a history of an antecedent hematologic disorder (AHD), a diagnosis of therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and AML with karyotype abnormalities characteristic of myelodysplastic syndrome. Newly diagnosed s-AML patients aged 60 to 75 years were grouped into 5 treatment cohorts: 1) patients receiving high- or intermediate-dose cytarabine-based intensive chemotherapy (IC), 2) patients receiving a hypomethylating agent (HMA) or HMA combinations, 3) patients receiving low-dose cytarabine (LDAC) combinations, 4) patients receiving CPX-351, and 5) patients receiving investigational (INV) agents. Nine hundred thirty-one patients met the age and s-AML criteria. Complete remission rates were statistically lower in th...

Haematologica, 2004

The prognosis of elderly patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is usually dismal, while the true survival of older patients not included in clinical trials is not known. We retrospectively evaluated the impact on survival of an aggressive versus a non-aggressive approach in 1005 patients aged >60 years registered in the database of the GIMEMA cooperative group. Group A patients (n=621) received aggressive treatment, while group B patients (n=384) underwent non-aggressive therapy. The groups were different for risk factor distribution: the patients in group B had a higher median age, worse performance status (PS) and a higher proportion of previous myelodysplastic disease. The overall median survival was 7 and 5 months in groups A and B, respectively (p min of 0.0001). At multivariate analysis the following factors were associated with a significantly shorter survival: age >71 years (RR=1.27; 95% CI=1.07-1.50), PS=2-4 (RR=1.44; 95% CI=1.24-1.68), white cell count > ...