In a nutshell
This study aimed to compare post-remission survival for patients with acute myeloid leukemia treated with 2 different regimens.
This study concluded that FLAG with or without idarubicin treatment has better post-remission survival when compared to standard 3+7 treatment for these patients.
Some background
The 3+7 induction regimen involved an anthracycline drug such as daunorubicin (Cerubidine) and cytarabine (Cytosar-U). This is a standard treatment for newly diagnosed patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
FLAG involves fludarabine (Fludara), high-dose cytarabine and granulocyte-stimulating factor (G-CSF or filgrastim). It can be combined with idarubicin (Idamycin). FLAG with or without idarubicin (FLG+/-Ida) is commonly used for patients with relapsed or unresponsive AML. However, the effectiveness of FLAG+/-Ida in newly diagnosed patients with AML is still under investigation.
Methods & findings
This study involved 304 patients with non-favorable risk AML. 218 patients received initial treatment of FLAG+/-Ida and 86 patients received 7+3.
74% of the FLAG+/-Ida group achieved remission after one course of induction treatment compared to 62% of the 7+3 group. Patients in the FLAG+/-Ida group had an average time to achieve complete response (CR) of 30 days compared to 37.5 for the 7+3 group.
The 3-year post-remission overall survival (OS) was 54% for the FLAG+/-Ida group compared to 39% for the 7+3 group. The 3-year post-remission disease-free survival (DFS) was 49% for the FLAG+/-Ida group compared to 32% for the 7+3 group.
The bottom line
This study concluded that FLAG with or without idarubicin treatment has better post-remission survival when compared to standard 7+3 therapy for newly diagnosed patients with non-favorable risk AML.
The fine print
This study was based on data from medical records. This means some information might have been missing.
Published By :
Leukemia Research
Date :
Feb 14, 2020
