Treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia in the Elderly

Background

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most prevalent type of leukemia, which primarily affects older patients. Because the definition of ‘elderly’ AML varies across the literature, from ≥60 years in some cooperative-group studies to a strict ≥ 75-year threshold in the pivotal VIALE-A trial, we adopt ≥ 60 years as our working definition. Despite recent advancements, the 5-year overall survival (OS) of AML patients is just 30% and declines to 5–10% in patients older than 65 years at diagnosis. The main objective of treatment in older individuals is to achieve complete remission (CR) and maintain a good quality of life.