Danielle Hammond, MD, discusses the results from a retrospective review of patients with acute myeloid leukemia treated over the last 6 years with a combination of venetoclax and either decitabine or azacitadine.
Danielle Hammond, MD, a clinical fellow in leukemia for the MD Anderson Cancer Center Leukemia Fellowship Program at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the results from a retrospective review of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treated over the last 6 years with a combination of venetoclax (Venclexta) and either decitabine or azacitadine.
This combination was highly effective in patients with IDH-mutated AML in the front line with a complete response (CR) and CR with incomplete hematologic recovery (CRi) rate of about 88%, according to Hammond. The patients with relapsed/refractory disease had a CR and CRi rate of close to 50%.
Using flow cytometry for minimal residual disease (MRD) testing in the patients receiving frontline treatment, investigators found that almost 90% of the patients who responded to treatment had MRD negativity. Hammond says what is interesting is that half of the responding patients, despite being MRD negative by flow cytometry, still had a detectable IDH mutation when using next generation sequencing. This suggests there may be a role for combination therapy with the FDA approved IDH1 and IDH2 inhibitors, she concluded.
Brain Cancer Awareness Month: Challenges and Innovations in Treatment
May 13th 2024In an interview with Targeted Oncology for Brain Cancer Awareness Month, Theodore Schwartz, MD, discussed the challenges of targeting brain tumors, emerging therapies, and strategies to overcome the blood-brain barrier.
Read More