Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that comes back or doesn't respond to treatment is tough. Options are limited. Now, a new analysis of 235 patients suggests that adding the drug venetoclax to intensive chemotherapy may help.
The analysis looked at several studies and found that about 64% of patients responded to the combination. More than half achieved a composite complete remission, meaning the cancer largely disappeared from the bone marrow. And 27% had a complete remission, where all signs of cancer are gone.
The treatment did come with side effects. Febrile neutropenia, a serious fever caused by low white blood cell counts, occurred in about 71% of patients. Pneumonia happened in about 24%. The researchers say this is the expected toxicity for such intensive therapy.
But there are important caveats. The studies included were not randomized and were retrospective, meaning they looked back at past cases. This type of evidence is weaker than a clinical trial. The researchers say prospective trials are needed to confirm these results and figure out how this combo compares to other salvage treatments.
