Treatment patterns and comparative effectiveness in elderly acute myeloid leukemia patients (age 70 years or older): the Lyon-university hospital experience

Abstract

The treatment of very elderly patients (≥70 years) with acute myeloid leukemia remains controversial. We present here 302 patients seen over a 14-year period in order to understand the real-world treatment patterns and outcomes in this patient population. Less than 25% of patients achieved a complete remission. The median overall survival was 12.4, 11.5 and 2.6 months, with a 3-year rates of 27%, 17% and 6%, for non-acute promyelocytic leukemia patients receiving intensive chemotherapy, lower-intensity therapy or best supportive care (BSC), respectively. In all ages, results were not significantly different among patients receiving low-intensity therapy and intensive chemotherapy, but significantly worse in those treated with BSC only. Similarly, intensive chemotherapy and low-intensity therapy gave better survival rates than BSC in patients with favorable- or intermediate-risk cytogenetics and in those with unfavorable cytogenetics (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.04, respectively).

Keywords:

• Acute myeloid leukemia
• elderly
• prognosis
• treatment

Potential conflict of interest

Disclosure forms provided by the authors are available with the full text of this article at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10428194.2016.1180688.