Venetoclax with decitabine or azacitidine in the first-line treatment of acute myeloid leukemia

A systematic review of venetoclax for the treatment of unfit AML patients in real-world: is all that glitters gold?

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive hematological disease that mainly affects elderly patients. Following the randomized VIALE-A trial, current standard treatment in patients who are not candidates for intensive chemotherapy consists of the combination of venetoclax (VEN), a selective inhibitor of the anti-apoptotic protein BCL-2, with azacitidine (AZA) or decitabine (DEC). We performed a systematic review to critically assess the growing existing evidence regarding the effectiveness of the VEN-based combinations in unfit adult patients with newly diagnosed AML in the real-world setting. Following PRISMA guidelines, a systematic search of published manuscripts and conference abstracts (European Hematology Association and American Society of Hematology) was conducted (updated March 2024). Primary outcomes were composite complete remission (CRc) and median overall survival (mOS). A total of 73 studies fulfilled inclusion criteria, with a median age of 73 years old. The weighted mean mOS was 10.3 months among 7 138 patients, significantly lower than expected according to the VIALE-A trial (14.7 months), while the weighted mean CRc rate was 58.2% among 5 831 patients, slightly lower to that reported in the VIALE-A (66.4%). Early death rates at 30 and 60 days were 5% and 13%, respectively. The weighted mean percentage of subsequent allogeneic transplant was 15.4%. In conclusion, breakthrough mOS reported in the VIALE-A trial using VEN-AZA was not well reproduced in real world for unfit newly diagnosed AML patients, while CRc rates were more consistent. Strategies to optimize patient selection, dosing regimens, and supportive care are crucial to improve outcomes in real-world.

Venetoclax-based treatment in acute myeloid leukemia: an unexpected bonus on the path to allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant?

Despite the approval of new drugs, the inclusion of -omics-derived data and the integration of machine learning in both the diagnostic and therapeutic process, the prognosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains dismal. The curative path is still aimed at achieving a successful allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) in most patients. Nevertheless, access to this procedure is limited to eligible patients. Moreover, post-HSCT outcomes are influenced by AML heterogeneity and patient-related factors. The rise of venetoclax (VEN)-based combinations as standard of care in the treatment of older or unfit AML patients, together with their peculiar management profile, has led researchers to evaluate the feasibility of this approach in patients proceeding toward HSCT. We reviewed the available evidence to weigh up the advantages and pitfalls of this new therapeutic strategy.

Dendritic cell vaccination strategy for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia: a systematic review

BACKGROUND AIMS

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is classified as a hematologic malignancy characterized by the proliferation of immature blood cells within the bone marrow (BM), resulting in an aberrant and unregulated cellular growth. The primary therapeutic modalities for AML include chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. However, it is important to note that these treatments are accompanied by important adverse effects and mortality rates. Therefore, the need for more effective treatment options seems necessary, and dendritic cell (DC) vaccine therapy can be one of these options. In this study, we aim to investigate the effectiveness of DC vaccination therapy for the management of AML.

METHODS

PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases were searched for this systematic review. The articles were evaluated based on the inclusion criteria of this study and initially compared in terms of titles or abstracts. Finally, the articles related to the topic of this review were obtained in full text. The complete remission and partial remission, survival, correlative immune assays, and health-related metrics were used to evaluate this cellular immunotherapy effectiveness. The quality of the studies was assessed independently using the Cochrane risk-of-bias tools. The compiled data were input into a standard Excel spreadsheet. Each domain was evaluated as having either a "low risk," "high risk," or "unclear risk" of bias.

RESULTS

Among the 3986 studies that were determined, a total of 11 correlated trials were selected for inclusion in this systematic review. DC vaccine therapy was effective in inducing complete and partial remission, and stabilization of the disease. Additionally, it was discovered that the treatment strengthened the immune system as seen by increased levels of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, Th1 cytokines, WT1-specific T cells, and activated NK cells.

CONCLUSION

We conducted a systematic review that supports the use of DC vaccine therapy as an effective treatment for AML. The therapy demonstrated potentials in achieving remission, enhancing the immune system function, and increasing overall survival. However, more studies are required to improve the methods of preparing and delivering the DC vaccine, and to confirm its long-term safety and effectiveness.

Synergistic cytotoxicity of decitabine and YM155 in leukemia cells through upregulation of SLC35F2 and suppression of MCL1 and survivin expression

The hypomethylation agent decitabine (DAC), in combination with other apoptosis inducers, is considered a potential modality for cancer treatment. We investigated the mechanism underlying the combined cytotoxicity of DAC and YM155 in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells because of increasing evidence that YM155 induces apoptosis in cancer cells. Co-administration of DAC and YM155 resulted in synergistic cytotoxicity in AML U937 cells, which was characterized by the induction of apoptosis, NOXA-dependent degradation of MCL1 and survivin, and depolarization of mitochondria. Restoration of MCL1 or survivin expression attenuated DAC/YM155-induced U937 cell death. DAC initiated AKT and p38 MAPK phosphorylation in a Ca2+/ROS-dependent manner, thereby promoting autophagy-mediated degradation of β-TrCP mRNA, leading to increased Sp1 expression. DAC-induced Sp1 expression associated with Ten-eleven-translocation (TET) dioxygenases and p300 was used to upregulate the expression of SLC35F2. Simultaneously, the activation of p38 MAPK induced by DAC, promoted CREB-mediated NOXA expression, resulting in survivin and MCL1 degradation. The synergistic cytotoxicity of DAC and YM155 in U937 cells was dependent on elevated SLC35F2 expression. Additionally, YM155 facilitated DAC-induced degradation of MCL1 and survivin. A similar mechanism explained DAC/YM155-mediated cytotoxicity in AML HL-60 cells. Our data demonstrated that the synergistic cytotoxicity of DAC and YM155 in AML cell lines U937 and HL-60 is dependent on AKT- and p38 MAPK-mediated upregulation of SLC35F2 and p38 MAPK-mediated degradation of survivin and MCL1. This indicates that a treatment regimen that amalgamates YM155 and DAC may be beneficial for AML.

Venetoclax with decitabine or azacitidine in relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia

Relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is associated with poor outcomes and resistance to therapy. The addition of venetoclax, a BCL-2 antagonist, to lower-intensity therapies results in improved survival in the first-line setting compared to monotherapy with a hypomethylating agent or low-dose cytarabine. Despite this, much remains unknown about the performance of venetoclax with a hypomethylating agent following the first-line setting. Additionally, while the ELN 2022 guidelines appear to improve the prognostication of AML, clarification is needed to determine how the revision applies to lower-intensity strategies. To investigate this, we retrospectively analyzed the performance of venetoclax with decitabine or azacitidine in relapsed or refractory AML under the ELN 2022 guidelines. We demonstrated that the ELN 2022 revision is not optimized for lower-intensity venetoclax-based strategies. To refine the prognostication schema, we showed significantly improved response and survival benefits for patients with mutated NPM1 and IDH. Relatively, patients with mutated NRAS, KRAS, and FLT3-ITD were associated with inferior response and survival. Furthermore, there is an unmet clinical need for tools to improve the selection of lower-intensity therapy candidates with borderline functional status. Using an incremental survival computation method, we discovered that a CCI score threshold of 5 distinguishes patients at an elevated risk of death. Together, these novel findings highlight areas of refinement to improve survival in relapsed or refractory AML.

Real-Life Multicenter Experience of Venetoclax in Combination with Hypomethylating Agents in Previously Untreated Adult Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Greece

BACKGROUND

The landscape of first-line treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients ineligible for intensive chemotherapy has changed remarkably after venetoclax approval. Accumulating real-world data further apprises us with more knowledgeable use. To assess the efficacy and safety challenges in the real-life setting of the combination of hypomethylated agent (HMA) and venetoclax, we conducted a multi-center retrospective study.

METHODS

Forty adult AML patients treated with the combination of HMA and venetoclax as a first-line treatment after full approval (2020) were included. To confirm VIALE-A results, this group was compared to a historical cohort of 17 chemotherapy-ineligible AML patients treated with HMA monotherapy before 2020.

RESULTS

The combination of HMA-venetoclax achieved a composite complete response rate of 86.8% (p < 0.001), median overall survival, and event-free survival of 33.8 and 19.7 months, respectively, in a median follow-up of 17.8 months (pos < 0.001, HR = 0.276, CI: 0.132-0.575, pEFS = 0.004, HR = 0.367, CI: 0.174-0.773). High rates of neutropenia (90%) and consequent infection rates (57.5%) were noted. Only 55% of our patients received antifungal prophylaxis, as its use remains controversial, and invasive fungal infections were presented in 7.5%.

CONCLUSIONS

Evidently, venetoclax-HMA yields high response rates and profound survival benefits in real life and has changed our approach to alternative chemotherapy options.