Etoposide Combined with FLAG Salvage Therapy Is Effective in Multiple Relapsed/Refractory Acute Myeloid leukemia

Real-world results of venetoclax combined with hypomethylating agents in young adults with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia

OBJECTIVES

Young adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) often fail to achieve permanent complete remission (CR) and frequently relapse, indicating an urgent need to explore effective salvage therapies. Recent advances in AML treatment have been attributed to the combination of the B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) inhibitor venetoclax (VEN) with hypomethylating agents (HMAs); however, the use of this combination in young adults with relapsed or refractory (R/R) AML has not been reported.

METHODS

We retrospectively examined 31 young patients with R/R AML treated with VEN plus an HMA. We evaluated the demographic data, cytogenetic characteristics, AML types, response rates, and transplantation-related data for the patients in our cohort.

RESULTS

The combination of VEN + HMA yielded a CR rate of 48.4%. The most prominent hematologic adverse event was neutropenia, which occurred in all patients, with 90.3% of cases being grade ≥3. Non-hematologic toxicities were relatively mild and infrequent, with an incidence of 45.2%. More than half of the patients with sustained CR had received an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT), of whom two died of transplant-related complications.

CONCLUSION

Our results showed that the combination of VEN + HMA appeared to be a highly effective and well-tolerated salvage therapy option for young patients with R/R AML, enabling more young patients to proceed to potentially curative allo-HSCT. However, additional, well-designed studies with larger numbers of patients are required to confirm the advantages of VEN + HMA in this population.

Cladribine, Cytarabine, and Etoposide-Based Regimens Are Safe and Tolerable In Relapsed and Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients

Intensive treatment regimens for relapsed/refractory (R/R) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) generally include an anthracycline, cytarabine, with or without a purine analog. In patients who cannot tolerate an anthracycline due to comorbidities, one may consider using etoposide. Given the ongoing fludarabine shortage, it has prompted the switch to other purine analogs, such as cladribine, in combination with cytarabine and etoposide in patients who may be eligible for intensive chemotherapy but not able to tolerate an anthracycline due to comorbidities or cardiotoxicity risks. Here, we present 4 patients who received a cladribine, cytarabine, and etoposide (CCE) based regimen for R/R AML. There were no significant therapy-related adverse events, dose holds, or delays. Two out of 3 evaluable patients were successfully bridged to allogeneic transplant, and one is pending another cycle of chemotherapy as a bridge to transplant. The CCE regimen offers a potential option for patients with R/R AML in need of an anthracycline-free salvage regimen during a fludarabine shortage.

Re-induction therapy in patients with acute myeloid leukemia not in complete remission after the first course of treatment

A standard salvage regimen for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who are not in complete remission (CR) after initial induction therapy does not exist. We retrospectively investigated re-induction therapy for 151 patients with AML who did not achieve CR after the initial course between January 2014 and March 2021. The re-induction regimen did not correlate with the CR rate after the second course, whereas patients had similar 5-year overall survival (OS) and event-free survival (EFS) based on different re-induction regimens. Multivariable analysis revealed that International European Leukaemia Net (ELN) risk stratification independently predicted both OS and EFS among patients not in CR after the first course, although the re-induction regimen did not predict prognosis. Urgent salvage alloHSCT may improve the prognosis of patients with refractory AML. In summary, our study showed that the re-induction regimen did not significantly predict the prognosis of patients with AML not in CR after the first course of treatment. The development and selection of an efficient treatment algorithm for the treatment of AML remains a pressing research challenge.