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Summary Large amounts of azurophilic granules are considered to be a morphological feature of acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL). However, a small percentage of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) patients also have a large number of azurophilic granules. A large cohort of 3210 AML patients in our hospital was screened to identify AML patients who had a large number of azurophilic granules. The clinical parameters of these patients were collected and compared with typical AML patients (control Group 1) and APL patients (control Group 2). The incidence of AML with a large number of azurophilic granules was 1.26%. The fibrinogen and D‐dimer levels of patients in the study group were more similar to those of patients in control Group 2, as was the incidence of bleeding events. Additionally, patients in the study group had higher FLT3‐ITD and NPM1 mutation rates than patients in control Group 1. Finally, patients in the study group had a higher 30‐day mortality rate than those in control Group 2 (24.2% vs. 9.09%) and showed a higher 30‐day mortality trend than those in control Group 1. Therefore, we should pay more attention to the prevention of coagulation dysfunction and bleeding events for these patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Gilteritinib, a potent FMS‐like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) inhibitor, was approved for relapsed/refractory (R/R) FLT3‐mutated acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) patients but still showed limited efficacy. Here, we retrospectively analysed the efficacy and safety of different gilteritinib‐based combination therapies (gilteritinib plus hypomethylating agent and venetoclax, G + HMA + VEN; gilteritinib plus HMA, G + HMA; gilteritinib plus venetoclax, G + VEN) in 33 R/R FLT3‐mutated AML patients. The composite complete response (CRc) and modified CRc (mCRc) rates were 66.7% (12/18) and 88.9% (16/18) in patients received G + HMA + VEN, which was higher compared with that in G + HMA (CRc: 18.2%, 2/11; mCRc: 45.5%, 5/11) or G + VEN (CRc: 50.0%, 2/4; mCRc: 50.0%, 2/4). The median overall survival (OS) for G + HMA + VEN, G + HMA and G + VEN treatment was not reached, 160.0 days and 231.0 days. The median duration of remission (DOR) for G + HMA + VEN, G + HMA and G + VEN treatment was not reached, 82.0 days and 77.0 days. Four patients in the G + HMA + VEN group received alloHSCT after remission exhibited prolonged median DOR. The most common grade 3/4 adverse events were cytopenia, febrile neutropenia and pulmonary infection; there were no differences among the three groups. In conclusion, our data demonstrated promising response of G + HMA + VEN combination therapy in R/R FLT3‐mutated AML, and it may be considered an effective therapy bridge to transplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]