KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The study aimed to investigate the efficacy of reduced-dose VEN+AZA compared to AZA monotherapy in patients with real-world AML.
- Researchers noticed that despite dose reductions, VEN+AZA demonstrated superior outcomes over AZA monotherapy, indicating its utility in patients with real-world AML management.
The combination of venetoclax (VEN) and azacitidine (AZA) (VEN+AZA) has demonstrated superior efficacy in achieving higher complete remission rates (CRR) and longer overall survival (OS) in untreated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients ineligible for intensive combination chemotherapy. However, in real-world clinical practice, attending physicians often reduce the doses of VEN and AZA to mitigate adverse events, yet the implications of these dose and duration reductions remain incompletely understood.
Yuta Baba and the team aimed to assess the efficacy of reduced-dose VEN+AZA compared to AZA monotherapy in real-world AML patients with AML.
They performed an inclusive analysis encompassing 33 patients, with 17 receiving VEN+AZA (10 newly diagnosed, 7 primary refractory or relapsed) and 16 receiving AZA (7 newly diagnosed, 9 primary refractory or relapsed). Complete remission (CR) and CR with incomplete hematologic recovery (CRi) rates, OS, and the incidence of adverse events were scrutinized.
Regarding CR and CRi, 7 out of 17 patients (41.2%) and 11 out of 17 patients (64.7%) in the VEN+AZA group, respectively, achieved them, compared to 0/15 (0%) and 2/15 (6.7%) in the AZA group. The VEN+AZA group demonstrated significantly higher CR/CRi rates compared to the AZA group (P=0.001). Regarding OS, the VEN+AZA group exhibited a longer median OS of 506 days (95% CI=234-585 days) compared to 208 days (95% CI=52-343 days) in the AZA group (P=0.03).
They performed an inclusive analysis encompassing 33 patients, with 17 receiving VEN+AZA (10 newly diagnosed, 7 primary refractory or relapsed) and 16 receiving AZA (7 newly diagnosed, 9 primary refractory or relapsed). Complete remission (CR) and CR with incomplete hematologic recovery (CRi) rates, OS, and the incidence of adverse events were scrutinized.
The study concluded that despite dose reductions at the attending physician’s discretion, the VEN+AZA combination yielded a higher CR/CRi rate and longer OS compared to AZA monotherapy. These findings suggest the potential utility of VEN+AZA in real-world AML management.
No funding information was provided.
Source: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38677735/
Baba Y, Hida N, Sambe T, et al. (2024). “Efficacy of Venetoclax and Azacitidine in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Compared to Azacitidine Monotherapy: Real-World Experience.” Anticancer Res. 2024 May;44(5):2003-2007. doi: 10.21873/anticanres.17003. PMID: 38677735.