Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Haematological cancer

Gemtuzumab ozogamicin in acute myeloid leukaemia

Gemtuzumab ozogamicin was withdrawn from the market after being evaluated in combination with chemotherapy in the frontline treatment of patients aged 18 to 60 years with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). More-recent randomized trials demonstrate that low doses of gemtuzumab added to cytarabine and anthracycline-based chemotherapy benefit patients with better-risk AML.

Key Points

The addition of a low dose of gemtuzumab ozogamicin to cytarabine and anthracycline-based induction and consolidation chemotherapy improves survival in patients with more-favourable-risk acute myeloid leukaemia.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Kern, W. & Estey, E. H. High-dose cytosine arabinoside in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia: Review of three randomized trials. Cancer 107, 116–124 (2006).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Willemze, R. et al. High dose (HD-AraC) vs. standard dose cytosine arabinoside (SD-AraC) during induction and IL-2 vs. observation after consolidation/autologous stem cell transplantation in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML): Final report of the AML-12 trial of EORTC and GIMEMA Leukemia groups on the value of high dose AraC [abstract]. Blood 118, a257 (2011).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Löwenberg, B. et al. Cytarabine dose for acute myeloid leukemia. N. Engl. J. Med. 364, 1027–1036 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Bloomfield, C. D. et al. Frequency of prolonged remission duration after high-dose cytarabine intensification in acute myeloid leukemia varies by cytogenetic subtype. Cancer Res. 58, 4173–4179 (1998).

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Fernandez, H. F. et al. Anthracycline dose intensification in acute myeloid leukemia. N. Engl. J. Med. 361, 1249–1259 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Castaigne, S. et al. Effect of gemtuzumab ozogamicin on survival of adult patients with de-novo acute myeloid leukaemia (ALFA-0701): a randomised, open-label, phase 3 study. Lancet http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140–6736(12)60485–1.

  7. Petersdorf, S. et al. Preliminary results of Southwest Oncology Group Study S0106: an international intergroup phase 3 randomized trial comparing the addition of gemtuzumab ozogamicin to standard induction therapy versus standard induction therapy followed by a second randomization to post-consolidation gemtuzumab ozogamicin versus no additional therapy for previously untreated acute myeloid leukemia [abstract]. Blood 114, a790 (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Burnett, A. K. et al. Identification of patients with acute myeloblastic leukaemia who benefit from the addition of gemtuzumab ozogamicin: Results of the MRC AML15 trial. J. Clin. Oncol. 29, 369–377 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Delaunay, J. et al. Addition of gemtuzumab ozogamycin to chemotherapy improves event-free survival but not overall survival of AML patients with intermediate cytogenetics not eligible for allogeneic transplantation. Results of the GOELAMS AML 2006 IR study [abstract]. Blood 118, a79 (2011).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Burnett, A. K. et al. The addition of gemtuzumab ozogamicin to intensive chemotherapy in older patients with AML produces a significant improvement in overall survival: Results of the UK NCRI AML16 randomized trial [abstract]. Blood 118, a582 (2011).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Farhad Ravandi.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ravandi, F., Kantarjian, H. Gemtuzumab ozogamicin in acute myeloid leukaemia. Nat Rev Clin Oncol 9, 310–311 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2012.83

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrclinonc.2012.83

This article is cited by

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing: Cancer

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Cancer newsletter — what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get what matters in cancer research, free to your inbox weekly. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Cancer