The following is a summary of “Real-world results of venetoclax combined with hypomethylating agents in young adults with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia,” published in the September 2023 issue of Hematology by Xu et al.
Researchers started a retrospective study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of venetoclax (VEN) combined with hypomethylating agents (HMAs) in young adults with relapsed or refractory (R/R) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who failed to reach complete remission (CR) with prior therapy, with a focus on B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) expression.
They studied 31 young patients with R/R AML who had received treatment with VEN in combination with an HMA. The cohort’s demographic information, cytogenetic features, AML subtypes, response rates, and transplantation-related details were assessed.
The results revealed that the VEN + HMA combination achieved a CR rate of 48.4%. Neutropenia was the most significant hematologic adverse event, affecting 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 patients with sustained CR underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT), with 2 deaths due to transplant-related complications.
Investigators concluded that VEN + HMA is a promising salvage therapy for young patients with R/R AML, but more extensive studies are needed to confirm its advantages.
Source: tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16078454.2023.2265206