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Geriatric assessment (GA) predicts survival among older adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treated intensively. We evaluated the predictive utility of GA among older adults treated with low-intensity therapy on a multisite trial. We conducted a companion study (CALGB 361101) to a randomized phase 2 trial (CALGB 11002) of adults ≥60 years and considered "unfit" for intensive therapy, testing the efficacy of adding bortezomib to decitabine therapy. On 361101, GA and quality of life (QOL) assessment was administered prior to treatment and every other subsequent cycle. Relationships between baseline GA and QOL measures with survival were evaluated using Kaplan-Meier estimation and Cox proportional hazards models. One-hundred sixty-five patients enrolled in CALGB 11002, and 96 (52%) of them also enrolled in 361101 (median age, 73.9 years). Among participants, 85.4% completed ≥1 baseline assessment. In multivariate analyses, greater comorbidity (hematopoietic cell transplantation-specific comorbidity index >3), worse cognition (Blessed Orientation-Memory-Concentration score >4), and lower European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer global QOL scores at baseline were significantly associated with shorter overall survival (P < .05 each) after adjustment for Karnofsky Performance Status, age, and treatment arm. Dependence in instrumental activities of daily living and cognitive impairment were associated with 6-month mortality (hazard ratio [HR], 3.5; confidence interval [CI], 1.2-10.4; and HR, 3.1; CI, 1.1-8.6, respectively). GA measures evaluating comorbidity, cognition, and self-reported function were associated with survival and represent candidate measures for screening older adults planned to receive lower-intensity AML therapies. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT01420926 (CALGB 11002)., (© 2022 by The American Society of Hematology. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), permitting only noncommercial, nonderivative use with attribution. All other rights reserved.)

The preferred post-remission therapy for older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in first complete remission (CR1) remains uncertain. In this retrospective, multicenter study, we compared the outcomes for older AML patients (age 60-77 years) receiving allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT) (n = 431) with those treated on prospective National Clinical Trials Network induction and nontransplantation chemotherapy (CT) consolidation trials (n = 211). AlloHCT patients were younger (median age: 64.2 versus 67.9 years, p < 0.001), but more frequently had high-risk AML (high WBC, secondary AML, and unfavorable cytogenetics). Overall survival (OS) was worse in alloHCT during the first 9 months after CR1 (HR = 1.52, p = 0.02), but was significantly better thereafter (HR = 0.53, p < 0.0001) relative to CT. Treatment-related mortality (TRM) following HCT was worse in the first 9 months (HR = 2.8, 95% CI: 1.5-5.2, p = 0.0009), while post-HCT relapse was significantly less frequent beyond 9 months (HR = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.29-0.61, p < 0.0001). Despite higher early TRM, alloHCT recipients had superior long-term OS [29% (24-34%) versus CT 13.8% (9-21%) at 5 years]. Although this is a retrospective analysis with potential biases, it indicates that alloHCT led to heightened early risks from TRM, yet reduced relapse and superior long-term survival relative to CT in older AML patients in CR1.