Personalizing initial therapy in acute myeloid leukemia: incorporating novel agents into clinical practice

Christin B DeStefano; Christopher S Hourigan

doi:10.1177/2040620718761778

Personalizing initial therapy in acute myeloid leukemia: incorporating novel agents into clinical practice

Ther Adv Hematol. 2018 May;9(5):109-121. doi: 10.1177/2040620718761778. Epub 2018 Mar 27.

Authors

Christin B DeStefano¹, Christopher S Hourigan²

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Myeloid Malignancies, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA Department of Hematology, MedStar Washington Cancer Institute, Washington, DC, USA.
² Laboratory of Myeloid Malignancies, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Building 10-CRC, Room 5-5130, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20814-1476, USA.

Abstract

While the past decade has seen a revolution in understanding of the genetic and molecular etiology of the disease, in clinical practice, initial therapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients has been a relatively straightforward choice between intensive combination cytotoxic induction therapy as used for decades or less-intensive hypomethylating therapy. The year 2017, however, witnessed US Food and Drug Administration approvals of midostaurin, enasidenib, gemtuzumab ozogamicin and CPX-351 for AML patients, with many other promising agents currently in clinical trials. This review discusses these options, highlights unanswered questions regarding optimal combinations and proposes some suggested approaches for the personalization of initial therapy for AML patients.

Keywords: acute myeloid leukemia; novel agents; personalized therapy.

Publication types

Review