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Novel drugs for older patients with acute myeloid leukemia

Leukemia volume 29, pages 760–769 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the second most common form of leukemia and the most frequent cause of leukemia-related deaths in the United States. The incidence of AML increases with advancing age and the prognosis for patients with AML worsens substantially with increasing age. Many older patients are ineligible for intensive treatment and require other therapeutic approaches to optimize clinical outcome. To address this treatment gap, novel agents with varying mechanisms of action targeting different cellular processes are currently in development. Hypomethylating agents (azacitidine, decitabine, SGI-110), histone deacetylase inhibitors (vorinostat, pracinostat, panobinostat), FMS-like tyrosine kinase receptor-3 inhibitors (quizartinib, sorafenib, midostaurin, crenolanib), cytotoxic agents (clofarabine, sapacitabine, vosaroxin), cell cycle inhibitors (barasertib, volasertib, rigosertib) and monoclonal antibodies (gentuzumab ozogamicin, lintuzumab-Ac225) represent some of these promising new treatments. This review provides an overview of novel agents that have either completed or are currently in ongoing phase III trials in patients with previously untreated AML for whom intensive treatment is not an option. Other potential drugs in earlier stages of development will also be addressed in this review.

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Acknowledgements

We are fully responsible for all content and editorial decisions, were involved at all stages of manuscript development and have approved the final version of this review that reflects the authors’ interpretation and conclusions. Medical writing assistance during the preparation of this review, supported financially by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc., was provided by Helen Wilkinson of GeoMed, part of KnowledgePoint360, an Ashfield Company. Boehringer Ingelheim was given the opportunity to review for factual accuracy only. This work was supported in part by the MD Anderson Cancer Center Leukemia Support Grant (CCSG) CA016672, philanthropic support from the MD Anderson Cancer Center Moon Shot Program and the Fundacion Ramon Areces.

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  1. G Montalban-Bravo and G Garcia-Manero: These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Leukemia, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA

    G Montalban-Bravo & G Garcia-Manero

  2. Department of Hematology, University Hospital La Paz, Madrid, Spain

    G Montalban-Bravo

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  1. G Montalban-Bravo
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  2. G Garcia-Manero
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Correspondence to G Garcia-Manero.

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Montalban-Bravo, G., Garcia-Manero, G. Novel drugs for older patients with acute myeloid leukemia. Leukemia 29, 760–769 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/leu.2014.244

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