All-Oral Treatment of Newly Diagnosed Acute Myeloid Leukemia
47% of the patients in this study had complete response (CR) on all oral regimen of decitabine–cedazuridine 5 days every 28 days plus venetoclax 400mg daily.
Venetoclax (Ven), when combined with intensive chemotherapy, shows promise for untreated acute myeloid leukemia (AML), but its integration with the 7+3 regimen remains underexplored. In a phase 1b study, we assessed the safety and efficacy of Ven with daunorubicin and cytarabine in patients with newly diagnosed AML. A total of 34 patients (median age, 59 years; 62% non-White) received Ven at escalating durations (8, 11, or 14 days). Adverse events included febrile neutropenia (100%), sepsis (29%), and enterocolitis (23.5%), but there were no induction deaths. The median recovery times for neutrophils (>1.0 × 103/μL) and platelets (>100 × 103/μL) were less than 30 days. Composite complete remission was achieved in 85.3% of patients, and 86.2% were negative for measurable residual disease (MRD). Responses spanned all European Leukemia Net 2022 risk categories. With a median follow-up of 9.6 (2-20) months, the median duration of response, event-free survival, and overall survival were not reached. Ven (400 mg), when combined with 7+3 chemotherapy, was safe and effective in achieving MRD-negative remissions across all durations. Ven dose optimization is being explored in the expansion phase of this trial. Future multicenter studies should confirm our findings. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT05342584.
47% of the patients in this study had complete response (CR) on all oral regimen of decitabine–cedazuridine 5 days every 28 days plus venetoclax 400mg daily.
This is starting to look like a real frontline disruptor in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), asciminib showing a pretty striking ~22% absolute improvement in MMR at 96 weeks vs investigator-selected TKIs (and nearly 30% over imatinib) with a cleaner tolerability profile makes a strong case for moving beyond ATP-competitive tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) upfront. The efficacy signal is consistent across depths of response and durability looks excellent, with fewer discontinuations, overall survival (OS) will take time, but this feels very competitive as a new standard option.
Ziftomenib 600 mg daily achieved a CR/CRh rate of 22% (61% MRD-negative among responders) and an overall response rate (ORR) of 33% in heavily pretreated R/R NPM1-mutated AML, with a median duration of response (DOR) of 4.6 months and median overall survival (OS) of 6.6 months (18.4 months in responders). Efficacy was consistent across subgroups, including prior venetoclax and FLT3/IDH co-mutations, and safety was manageable with on-target differentiation syndrome in 25% (15% grade 3; no grade 4–5), low myelosuppression, rare QTc prolongation (3%), and only 3% discontinuations for drug-related AEs. This non-cytotoxic, oral menin inhibitor offers meaningful activity in a high-risk population and is a practical option while we await combination data.
It does not seem that all NPM1 mutations are created equally. Type A and B mutations had favorable outcomes and type D mutations do much worse, something to consider when risk stratifying in patients with AML.
This study compared double induction vs. standard induction and a reduced dose of daunorubicin 90mg/m2 vs. 60mg/m2. The reduced dose was just as efficacious and double inductions do not seem to be beneficial. Probably less is more in this setting and once you get the CR, one can move forward with consolidation and start planning for transplant.