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According to current recommendations, older AML patients in first complete remission (CR) after induction chemotherapy should receive consolidation with intermediate-dose cytarabine (IDAC). However, no study has demonstrated the superiority of IDAC over other regimen. In this retrospective study, we compared the efficacy of mini-consolidations (idarubicin 8 mg/m 2 day 1, cytarabine 50 mg/m 2 /12 h, day 1-5) and IDAC. Inclusion criteria were newly diagnosed AML, age > 60 years, first CR after induction and at least 1 cycle of consolidation. Of the 796 included patients, 322 patients received mini-consolidations and 474 patients received IDAC. Mini-consolidation patients were older, and more often, they had de novo AML and unfavorable risk. The rate of allogeneic transplantation was higher in the IDAC group. The median number of cycles was higher in the mini-consolidation group (4 vs. 2; p < .0001). Median relapse-free survival was 18 months with mini-consolidations and 12 months with IDAC (p = .0064). In multivariate analysis, the risk of relapse or death was significantly higher in the IDAC group (p = .004). Median OS was 36 versus 31 months with mini-consolidations or IDAC, respectively (p = .46). In multivariate analysis, the consolidation regimen had no significant influence on OS (p = .43). In older AML patients, post-remission therapy with mini-consolidations represents an alternative to IDAC., (© 2024 The Author(s). American Journal of Hematology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Background: Recently, the combination of venetoclax plus a hypomethylating agent (HMA; azacitidine ordecitabine) or low-dose cytarabine (LDAC) showed promise in Phase III trials in previously untreated AML. In France at the time of this study, venetoclax was not yet approved for AML and there were therefore no formal usage recommendations. Here we report the first study in a French cohort that assessed venetoclax in combination with existing treatments for AML under real-life conditions., Method: This retrospective, real-life study collected data on venetoclax use and management in a French cohort with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) ineligible for intensive chemotherapy., Result: Of 118 patients, 81 were in second line/beyond (71.6% also hypomethylating agent [HMA]; 23.5% lowdose cytarabine [LDAC]) and 37 in first line. For venetoclax initiation, 57.3% underwent ramp up and 74.6% were hospitalized. Median venetoclax duration was 2.5 months (range 0.03-16.2). With all treatment lines and regimens, most common grade 3/4 adverse events were hematologic (overall 96.4% of patients) and infections (57.1%). Dosage adjustments for drug interactions and safety varied between centers. In second-line/beyond, median progression-free survival was 4.0 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.7-12.8) with venetoclax-HMA and 3.4 months (1.3-8.9) with venetoclax-LDAC; overall response rate was 51.9% and 41.2%, respectively. Thus, we showed that venetoclax-based treatment yields promising findings in patients with AML, but to address treatment complexity, practice harmonization is needed., (© 2022 The Authors. Cancer Medicine published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Resistance of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) to therapeutic agents is frequent. Consequently, the mechanisms leading to this resistance must be understood and addressed. In this paper, we demonstrate that inhibition of deubiquitinylase USP7 significantly reduces cell proliferation in vitro and in vivo, blocks DNA replication progression and increases cell death in AML. Transcriptomic dataset analyses reveal that a USP7 gene signature is highly enriched in cells from AML patients at relapse, as well as in residual blasts from patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models treated with clinically relevant doses of cytarabine, which indicates a relationship between USP7 expression and resistance to therapy. Accordingly, single-cell analysis of AML patient samples at relapse versus at diagnosis showed that a gene signature of the pre-existing subpopulation responsible for relapse is enriched in transcriptomes of patients with a high USP7 level. Furthermore, we found that USP7 interacts and modulates CHK1 protein levels and functions in AML. Finally, we demonstrated that USP7 inhibition acts in synergy with cytarabine to kill AML cell lines and primary cells of patients with high USP7 levels. Altogether, these data demonstrate that USP7 is both a marker of resistance to chemotherapy and a potential therapeutic target in overcoming resistance to treatment.

CPX-351 is a liposomal formulation of cytarabine and daunorubicin approved for the treatment of adults with newly diagnosed, therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia (t-AML) or AML with myelodysplasia-related changes (MRC-AML). We retrospectively analyzed the efficacy and safety of CPX-351 in a real-world setting in 103 patients from 12 French centers, including the evaluation of molecular abnormalities at baseline and minimal residual disease (MRD) in responding patients, compared with a historical data set from Bordeaux-Toulouse DATAML registry. A favorable safety profile was observed, with a low frequency of alopecia (11%) and gastrointestinal toxicity (50%). The overall response rate after induction was 59%, and MRD <10-3 was achieved in 57% of complete response (CR)/CR with incomplete hematological recovery (CRi) patients. Only the presence of mutated TP53 (P = .02) or PTPN11 (P = .004) predicted lower response in multivariate analysis. Interestingly, high-risk molecular prognosis subgroups defined by 2017 European LeukemiaNet risk stratification, including ASXL1 and RUNX1 mutations, were not associated with a significantly lower response rate using CPX-351. With a median follow-up of 8.6 months, median overall survival (OS) was 16.1 months. Thirty-six patients underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation with a significantly longer median OS compared with nontransplanted patients (P < .001). In multivariate analyses, only spliceosome mutations were associated with better OS (P = .04). In comparison with intensive chemotherapy, there was no difference in OS for patients <60 years. These data confirm the efficacy and safety of CPX-351 in high-risk AML (t-AML and MRC-AML) in a real-life setting. CPX-351 is a treatment of choice for patients aged ≥60 years., (© 2021 by The American Society of Hematology.)

In acute myeloid leukemia (AML), new strategies assess the potential benefit of genetically targeted therapy at diagnosis. This implies waiting for laboratory tests and therefore a delay in initiation of chemotherapy. We studied the impact of time from diagnosis to treatment (TDT) on overall survival, early death, and response rate in a retrospective series of 599 newly diagnosed AML patients treated by induction chemotherapy between 2000 and 2009. The effect of TDT was assessed using multivariate analysis. TDT was analyzed as a continuous variable using a specific polynomial function to model the shape and form of the relationship. The median TDT was 8 days (interquartile range, 4-16) and was significantly longer in patients with a white blood cell count (WBC) <50 Giga per liter (G/L) (P < .0001) and in older patients (P = .0004). In multivariate analysis, TDT had no impact on overall survival (P = .4095) compared with age >60 years, secondary AML, WBC >50 G/L, European LeukemiaNet risk groups, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status. Furthermore, TDT was not associated with response rate and early death. Thus, waiting a short period of time for laboratory tests to characterize leukemias better and design adapted therapeutic strategies at diagnosis seems possible.

Considering the whole post-remission program, the median red blood cell transfusion per patient was 8.0 units (range, 0.0-18.0) in the IDAC arm and 4.0 (range, 0.0-24.0) in the SDAC-IDA arm ( I p i < 0.0001). Considering the whole post-remission program, the median platelet transfusion per patient was 6.0 units (range, 0.0-19.0) in the IDAC arm and 3.0 (range, 0.0-23.0) in the SDAC-IDA arm ( I p i < 0.0001). Patients receiving the SDAC-IDA regimen spent on average 20 days less in hospital over the whole period of post-remission treatment. [Extracted from the article]

A recent phase 3 trial showed that the outcome of patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) FLT3-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) improved with gilteritinib, a single-agent second-generation FLT3 tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), compared with standard of care. In this trial, the response rate with standard therapy was particularly low. We retrospectively assessed the characteristics and outcome of patients with R/R FLT3-mutated AML included in the Toulouse–Bordeaux DATAML registry. Among 347 patients who received FLT3 TKI-free intensive chemotherapy as first-line treatment, 174 patients were refractory (n = 48, 27.6%) or relapsed (n = 126, 72.4%). Salvage treatments consisted of intensive chemotherapy (n = 99, 56.9%), azacitidine or low-dose cytarabine (n = 9, 5.1%), other low-intensity treatments (n = 17, 9.8%), immediate allogeneic stem cell transplantation (n = 4, 2.3%) or best supportive care only (n = 45, 25.9%). Among the 114 patients who previously received FLT3 TKI-free intensive chemotherapy as first-line treatment (refractory, n = 32, 28.1%; relapsed, n = 82, 71.9%), the rate of CR (complete remission) or CRi (complete remission with incomplete hematologic recovery) after high- or low-intensity salvage treatment was 50.0%, with a bridge to transplant in 34.2% (n = 39) of cases. The median overall survival (OS) was 8.2 months (interquartile range, 3.0–32); 1-, 3- and 5-year OS rates were 36.0% (95%CI: 27–45), 24.7% (95%CI: 1–33) and 19.7% (95%CI: 1–28), respectively. In this real-word study, although response rate appeared higher than the controlled arm of the ADMIRAL trial, the outcome of patients with R/R FLT3-mutated AML remains very poor with standard salvage therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]