Patterns of Care and Survival for Elderly Acute Myeloid Leukemia—Challenges and Opportunities

Abhishek A. Mangaonkar, Mrinal M. Patnaik

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose of Review: Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a disease of the elderly, with a median age of diagnosis in the sixth decade of life. Mortality has declined over the last few years, but this impact is apparent only in the young, fit AML population. Outcomes for the elderly remain poor, with less than 20% 5-year overall survival rates. Hence, there is an unmet need to identify treatment strategies to maximize benefit in this age group. Recent Findings: Elderly AML is a difficult entity to treat due to both disease and patient-related factors. Treatment of this group has a lot of inter-physician and inter-institutional variability. Several objective criteria to assess biological age, impact of co-morbidities, and fitness have been published, which could be utilized to make management decisions. For old and unfit AML patients, a variety of novel therapeutic agents are currently being investigated. Summary: Objective analysis of biological age should include assessment of fitness, frailty, and co-morbidities in elderly AML. Future areas of research include development of an objective risk-based approach and its validation in clinical trials, development of novel therapeutic agents, and improvement in supportive care measures.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)290-299
Number of pages10
JournalCurrent Hematologic Malignancy Reports
Volume12
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 1 2017

Keywords

  • Acute myeloid leukemia
  • Allogeneic stem cell transplant
  • Elderly AML
  • Outcomes
  • Patterns of care
  • Survival

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Hematology
  • Oncology
  • Cancer Research

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