Ten-day decitabine as initial therapy for newly diagnosed patients with acute myeloid leukemia unfit for intensive chemotherapy. Issue 7 (July 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bhatnagar, Bhavana; Duong, Vu H.; Gourdin, Theodore S.; Tidwell, Michael L.; Chen, Ching; Ning, Yi; Emadi, Ashkan; Sausville, Edward A.; Baer, Maria R.
• Is Part Of: Leukemia & lymphoma. Volume 55:Issue 7(2014:Jul.)
• Page Start: 1533
• Page End: 1537
• Publication Date: 2014-07
• Subjects: Leukemia -- Periodicals; Lymphomas -- Periodicals; 616.99419
• DOI: 10.3109/10428194.2013.856425
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1042-8194

Abstract

<abstract> <title>Abstract</title> <p>We retrospectively reviewed outcomes in 45 previously untreated patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) considered unfit for chemotherapy who were treated with 10-day courses of decitabine 20 mg/m² daily outside of a clinical trial, with no cut-offs for organ function or performance status (PS). Nineteen had Eastern Cooperative Group performance status (ECOG PS) ≥ 2, and 39 had ≥ 2 comorbidities. Fourteen patients (31%) achieved complete remission (CR) and five (11%) CR with incomplete count recovery, for an overall response rate of 42%, after a median of 2 (range, 1–4) courses. The only pretreatment characteristic that differed significantly between responders and non-responders was percent marrow blasts (median 42% vs. 65%; <italic>p</italic> = 0.01). Median overall survival was 9.0 months; it was 19.4 and 2.3 months for responders and non-responders, respectively (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). Thus 10-day decitabine therapy has efficacy in patients with AML considered unfit for chemotherapy, and may serve as a backbone for the addition of other novel agents.</p> </abstract>