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Acute Myeloid Leukaemia

Optimal Management and Recent Developments

  • Therapy in Practice
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Abstract

The current treatment of patients with acute myeloid leukaemia yields poor results, with expected cure rates in the order of 30–40% depending on the biological characteristics of the leukaemic clone. Therefore, new agents and schemas are intensively studied in order to improve patients’ outcomes. This review summarizes some of these new paradigms, including new questions such as which anthracycline is most effective and at what dose. High doses of daunorubicin have shown better responses in young patients and are well tolerated in elderly patients. Monoclonal antibodies are promising agents in good risk patients. Drugs blocking signalling pathways could be used in combination with chemotherapy or in maintenance with promising results. Epigenetic therapies, particularly after stem cell transplantation, are also discussed. New drugs such as clofarabine and flavopiridol are reviewed and the results of their use discussed. It is clear that many new approaches are under study and hopefully will be able to improve on the outcomes of the commonly used ‘7+3’ regimen of an anthracycline plus cytarabine with daunorubicin, which is clearly an ineffective therapy in the majority of patients.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported in part by the grant P01CA15396 from the National Cancer Institute. Dr Bolaños-Meade is an Investigator-2 and Dr Villela is an Investigator-1, Sistema Nacional de Investigadores (CONACYT, Mexico).

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  1. Centro de Innovación y Transferencia en Salud, Servicio de Hematología del Centro Médico Zambrano Hellion, Escuela de Medicina del Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico

    Luis Villela

  2. “George W. Santos” Bone Marrow Transplant Service, Department of Oncology, The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Bunting Blaustein Cancer Research Building, 1650 Orleans Street, Room 2M-87, Baltimore, MD, 21231-1000, USA

    Javier Bolaños-Meade (Assistant Professor of Oncology)

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  1. Luis Villela
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  2. Javier Bolaños-Meade
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Correspondence to Javier Bolaños-Meade.

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Villela, L., Bolaños-Meade, J. Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. Drugs 71, 1537–1550 (2011). https://doi.org/10.2165/11593060-000000000-00000

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