Tag Archive for: AML treatment

What Are the Goals of AML Treatment?

What Are the Goals of AML Treatment? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

When it comes to acute myeloid leukemia (AML), what are the goals of treatment? Dr. Pinkal Desai defines the role of remission and the specific goals of treatment for AML patients. 

Dr. Pinkal Desai is Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and a hematologist specializing in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at Weill Cornell Medicine. Learn more about Dr. Desai, here.

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How Is Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treated?

Being Pro-Active in Your Care: Key AML Testing to Advocate For

AML Treatment Decisions: What’s Right for You Resource Guide

Transcript:

Katherine:      

Dr. Desai, when deciding on a treatment approach with a patient, I imagine you have to consider a number of factors, like a patient’s age and their overall health. Let’s walk through these considerations, and we’ll start with treatment goals. What does that mean, exactly?

Dr. Desai:                   

So, the first treatment goal is to get into remission. Patients with leukemia will have abnormal blood counts, they don’t feel well, they have a risk of infection, and all of that is only going to get better if you can get into remission.

And remission means that the bone marrow has a blast count less than 5 percent. Now, remember, we talked about if it was over 20, it’s considered diagnosis of AML. So, we want it gone under 5 percent, preferably zero. And we want all the blood counts that are abnormal to normalize back to what it would be for a normal person.

So, that’s the sort of definition of remission, and we want to get there, because ultimately, patients feel extremely good once they go into remission. They feel fine. The risk of infection goes away. It is absolutely important for long-term quality of life and survival. The first goal is to get into remission.

The second goal is to keep that remission going, for as long as possible, and also increase the chances of cure.

So, going into remission does not mean that a patient is cured of leukemia. It means that we’ve taken the first step of knocking the leukemia down to its knees, but there are still a few cells that are hanging out, and they’re still hiding. And the rest of the treatment and approach is to try to kill these cells and improve the chances of cure. So, and generally we say, once you get into remission you stay in remission, and when you’re past that five-year mark, we say leukemia is cured.

So, the first goal is get into remission. Second, keep yourself in remission, and that’s the whole sort of few things that we look at.

Understanding Risk in AML: How Molecular Testing Affects Treatment Options

Understanding Risk in AML: How Molecular Testing Affects Treatment Options from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

How does molecular testing impact acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treatment options? Dr. Pinkal Desai discusses molecular testing and how results may help determine the best treatment path for patients.

Dr. Pinkal Desai is Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and a hematologist specializing in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at Weill Cornell Medicine. Learn more about Dr. Desai, here.

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Insist! AML Resource Guide

Transcript:

Katherine:      

Dr. Desai, is there a high-risk and a low-risk AML? And if so, what are the indicators?

Dr. Desai:                   

So, in terms of when we talk about risk of leukemia, many patients, when they come, they frequently ask what stage this is, which is generally not how leukemia is categorized, unlike lung cancer, or breast cancer, or any of the solid tumors. Leukemia is in your blood and in your bone marrow, so it’s kind of like all or none to some extent. When we talk about risk in leukemia, we’re talking about what is the chance of this leukemia coming back in the future. So, is the chance high, intermediate, or low?

And that’s how we categorize leukemia, into these three sort of risk categories, low risk, intermediate risk, and high risk. These risk categories are made up.

We decide these based on information from two aspects. One is the chromosomes, which we talked about. There are certain good risks of chromosomal abnormalities as well, where, for example, poor binding factor leukemias, where these leukemias tend to respond very well to chemotherapy. There are some higher risk, that the chances are higher to come back. And then, the middle category of intermediate risk, where it’s sort of in the middle.

The molecular subtype, or the molecular classification of AML is extremely, extremely relevant, because it gives you pretty much your own signature, and the patient sort of specific, personalized risk of whether this is going to have a high, intermediate, or a low risk to come back.

So, it’s a combination of chromosomes, and the molecular subtype, which is extremely important in figuring out the risk category.

Now, in the course of the treatment and decision-making of leukemia, we don’t have – we’ll have the chromosome information quite early, usually within the first two to three days, but the molecular information, some of it comes back pretty fast, like in a couple days from the testing. But many of these tests, the full panel comes back about 14 days after we do the original bone marrow biopsy. Some of these decisions on whether this is high risk or low risk is relevant in the long run. These decisions happen later, and you don’t have to wait for the treatment, obviously. This is more for what happens after a patient goes into remission.

But there are certain molecular genes that are very important in deciding treatment up front, and those we expedite, and they are back usually before treatment decision is made. For example, FLT3 ITD or FLT3 TKB.

These are two genes where the up-front treatment decision changes, depending on the presence or absence of this gene. So, you really, really do want to know this information early on.

Chromosomes you absolutely need it before treatment begins, because there are several options of leukemia treatment that are specific to certain chromosome subtypes. So, that’s like the basic information you need to have before making any treatment plans.

Key AML Testing for Better Care: Understanding Prognosis and Treatment Choices

Key AML Testing for Better Care: Understanding Prognosis and Treatment Choices from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

After an acute myeloid leukemia (AML) diagnosis, additional tests must follow to determine prognosis and treatment options. Dr. Pinkal Desai explains key tests that aid in choosing optimal care for each patient. 

Dr. Pinkal Desai is Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and a hematologist specializing in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at Weill Cornell Medicine. Learn more about Dr. Desai, here.

Download Program Resource Guide

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Being Pro-Active in Your Care: Key AML Testing to Advocate For 

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Transcript:

Katherine:      

Other than a complete blood count, what additional testing should take place following an AML diagnosis?

Dr. Desai:                

So, a blood count or CBC is just a hint that there might be AML. It’s certainly not diagnostic.

But when you see that there are some abnormalities in blood count, and there might be the presence of these immature cells or blasts in circulation, there is suspicion that this is acute myeloid leukemia. The diagnosis, the gold standard for diagnosis, is a bone marrow biopsy, which is a procedure that can be done out-patient or in the hospital, depending on where the patient is. It takes about 15 minutes, where we take a sample out of the hip bone and look at the cells. This is where bone marrow is being made, so you’re going to exactly where the problem lies, and seeing if the blast count is increased.

So, the diagnosis of AML is established when the blast count is over 20 percent in the bone marrows. And normally, it needs to be less than 5 percent.

And if it’s over 20 percent, that’s the diagnosis of AML. Whether it’s over 20 percent in the bone marrow or in the peripheral blood.

It doesn’t matter, one way or the other. This is a diagnosis of AML, but you do need a bone marrow biopsy to confirm diagnosis of AML.

Katherine:                  

What about genetic or molecular testing? Is that done?

Dr. Desai:                   

AML diagnosis is just one part or the first step of saying somebody has leukemia. There is a slew of other tests that are important, and we generally consider, within the genetic tests, we generally consider two kinds of testing. One is the cytogenetics, or the karyotype analysis, which looks at the chromosomes in our bodies.

So, leukemia can be associated with big chromosomal changes, and that’s important to recognize. And the second one is the molecular testing, and we’ll go over both of them.

The chromosomes, or the karyotypic analysis, the vast majority of leukemia patients have a normal chromosome type, but there are certain recurrent abnormalities in chromosomes that we see in leukemia, and that’s important to know for a variety of reasons: treatment decisions, prognostication.

And the second part of it, the molecular, these are actually genetic routine analysis, and this is not somebody – it doesn’t mean, when we say genetic testing, it’s not the patient’s own normal genetic type. So, we’re not looking for what they have inherited. Most of leukemia is actually a random event, and it’s not inherited. We’re talking about genetic damage that the leukemia cells have within themselves.

It gives us the signature of the leukemia, and it helps us understand what genetic abnormalities are present in the leukemia. There are several panels, 50 to 100 genes, but there’s usually recurrent genetic damage that leukemia cells have.

And you want to know that, because again, like karyotype, this is important in treatment decisions, and also in the prognostication and prediction in the future.

Treatment Approaches in AML: Key Testing for Personalized Care

Treatment Approaches in AML: Key Testing for Personalized Care from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

When it comes to Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), genetic testing (or biomarker testing) is essential in helping to determine the best treatment approach for YOU. In this program, AML expert, Dr. Naval Daver reviews key decision-making factors, current AML treatments and emerging research for patients with AML.

Dr. Naval Daver is an Associate Professor in the Department of Leukemia at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. More about Dr. Daver here.

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How is Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Treated?

 

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Confused About AML Genetic Testing and Treatment? What You Need to Know

Transcript:

Katherine:                   

Welcome to INSIST! AML. A program focused on empowering patients to insist on better care. Today we’ll discuss the latest advances in AML, including the role of genetic testing and how this may affect treatment options. I’m Katherine Banwell, your host for today’s program. And joining me is Dr. Naval Daver. Welcome, Dr. Daver. Thank you so much for being here. Would you introduce yourself?

Dr. Daver:                    

Hello. Yeah. Thank you very much, Katherine. It’s a pleasure to join this discussion and meeting. I’m the Associate Professor in the Department of Leukemia at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. I focus on the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia and MDS, including the development of a number of clinical trials that are using targeted therapies and immune therapies for this disease. And with the great and dramatic progress, we’re seeing in acute myeloid leukemia; I think it is now more important than ever for patients to be aware of the options and be able to select the most appropriate therapy with their physicians.

Katherine:                   

Before we get into the discussion about AML, a reminder that this program is not a substitute for seeking medical advice. Please refer to your own healthcare team. Dr. Daver, I know the field of AML research is advancing rapidly. Would you give us an overview of the current treatment types in AML?

Dr. Daver:                    

There has been dramatic progress in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia, especially in the last three years. We’ve had eight new drugs approved for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. The most progress I think that has happened so far is in the identification of particular molecular mutations and targeting those mutations with targeted therapies.

The mutations that are most important right now and have target options for FLT3 mutations, F-L-T-3, and the drugs that have been USDA-approved for this are an agent called Midostaurin, which is a first-generation FLT3 inhibitor and combination chemotherapy.

And then, more recently, another agent called Gilteritinib, as a single agent in relapse refractory FLT3 AML. The other mutational group that is also very important, and therapeutically needs to be checked, is IDHN1 and IDH2. And there are now two IDH inhibitors, IDH1 inhibitor, Ivosidenib, and IDH2 inhibitor, Enasidenib, both of which have been approved by the United States FDA for relapse patients with IDH1, IDH2 mutations. So, I think it’s really critical now to check for particular molecular mutations and to appropriately add the particular targeted therapy or select the particular targeted therapy in patients who have the mutation.

The other major area of advancement, and probably, if not the most important breakthrough that has happened, is the development of a new drug called Venetoclax. This is a BCL2 inhibitor. It’s new in AML, but in fact, it has been used for many years in CLL, which is chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

And this drug, in combination with Azacitidine in the frontline setting in older patients with AML who are not good candidates for intensive induction, has shown very high response rates, almost 70 percent CR-CRi, which is more than double of the 20 to 25 percent we were getting with Azacitidine alone.

And it’s now been approved by the US FDA and, in my opinion, and many of the experts really is the new standard of care and should be used in all older patients who are not good candidates for intensive chemotherapy given both the very high response rates, as well as now mature data showing significantly improved overall survival and a good tolerability.

So, there are many other breakthroughs. But I think these targeted agents, and Venetoclax, probably are the most impactful today.

And we’re focusing a number of new combinations building around this.  

Katherine:                   

What are common mutations in AML?

Dr. Daver:                    

Yeah. So, the most common mutation in AML is F-L-T-3, FLT3 mutation. This is both prognostically important mutation, presence of an FLT3 in a newly diagnosed AML, has been shown in many large publications by the German Cooperative Group, British Cooperative Group, our group, and others, is associated with an inferior survival.

Also, now, on top of that, it is also a therapeutically important mutation in addition to having negative prognostic value because the addition of FLT3 inhibitors seems to dilute, to a large extent, the negative prognostic value.

So, we believe that if we can identify FLT3 mutations at FLT3 inhibitors, we can definitely improve the outcome of those patients. The second most common is what we call NPM1 mutation, and that tends to occur with FLT3. About 55 percent of patients with an FLT3 mutation will have a coopering NPM1.

NPM1 is very interesting. With NPM1 mutation is present on it’s own without a FLT3, it’s actually associated with favorable outcome. It’s a favorable prognostic marker. However, if NPM1 is present with a FLT3, and especially if the FLT3 has a high quantity, high allelic load, then the NPM1 loses its favorable impact. So, now we’re kind of moving beyond just; do you have one mutation or not, which is what we thought 10 years ago, to; well, yes, you have this mutation, but what about the core-occurring mutation and even beyond. What about the burden, or what we call the variant allele frequency of that mutation?

So, for good or bad and I think it’s good in the end because it’s going to improve the patient outcomes, that we are getting more, more in-depth and there’s no longer quote, unquote, AML.

So, there’s a lot more granularity and analysis that is required even before starting treatment. And this is the thing that, in the community, we’re educating the doctors a lot, is that it’s okay to wait four to six days, especially if the patient does not have a very proliferative leukemia, to get the important bloodwork to identify the appropriate molecular and chromosome group.

So, that we can select the right treatment which will improve outcome rather than just rushing into standard treatment and missing a particular molecular chromosome group.

Katherine:                   

True. It might not be – the genetic testing might not be right for everyone.

Dr. Daver:                    

Right. Right.

Katherine:                   

What is genetic testing in AML?

Dr. Daver:                    

So, genetic testing in AML is basically what we call molecular profiling.

So, it’s looking at the presence of particular molecular mutations. For example, at MD Anderson, we do what we call 81 gene panel. So, this looks at 81 different genes for mutations in the bone marrow of newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia. Now, how did we come up with 81 genes? So, this was actually done by literature analysis and review of previously published preclinical and translational studies, and we basically selected all mutations that had been shown to occur in two percent or more of thousands of AML patients. And we found 81 such mutations. So, that any mutation that had a two percent or higher frequency in known published or public databases was included.

And that’s how we’re able to analyze for the mutation. So, it’s still possible that there may be some very rare mutations that are present, and those may be important for research. But they don’t change our treatment decision today. And so that’s what we call genetic profiling. Some people call it molecular mutation analysis. Some people call it next-generation sequencing.

But basically, this is looking for mutations in particular genes that are known to occur in AML. Now of those 81 genes; and some people do a 100 gene panel, some do 50, so those are variables; but among those, there are four or five that are most important: the FLT3, as we discussed, where we can use FLT3 inhibitors; IDH1 and two, because we can use IDH1 and IDH2 inhibitors; TP53 is a very important mutation because it has very high risk and adverse prognosis.

And there are now new drugs coming that may be very effective in TP53. So, we are checking for that. Those drugs are in trials, but the trials are showing very promising data and could be a great option if a patient is known to have a TP53.

Those drugs are Magrolimab, CD47 antibody, and APR-246. So, these are the four most important therapeutic mutations.

There are also some mutations that have prognostic value even though we cannot target them. These include mutations like RUNX1, DNMP3A, ASXL1.

One does not need to know the list. But the point is that these mutations may help determine whether a patient falls into intermediate-risk group or high-risk group, which then impacts the decision as to whether we need a stem cell transplant or not. So, it really is important to get this molecular profiling. It’s actually available in the United States commercially. And any clinic or hospital is able to actually order it. And insurance will cover it in 100 percent of the cases.

Katherine:                   

Wow, that’s great. What should – when should patients be tested, and how is testing done?

Dr. Daver:                   

Yeah. So, the basic testing for any suspected new acute leukemia is to get a bone marrow biopsy. That has to be done.

That should be done very quickly because all of the information that will be generated to make the treatment decision will come off the bone marrow biopsy.

Katherine:

What about retesting, Dr. Daver? Is that necessary?

Dr. Daver:                    

Yeah. So, retesting is necessary in – not for everything, I think.

But let’s say someone had treatment induction and relapsed a year later. So, we would definitely retest: 1) to confirm with the bone marrow’s relapsed AML, get the blast percentage because we need that before restarting treatment, so we know what was the starting point to know how the patients doing after treatment if he’s responding. 2) Molecular testing, for sure, should be repeated. We usually repeat the molecular testing such as FLT3, IDH1, IDH2, because there are drugs that can target these mutations in a relapse.

And more interestingly, we actually have published, and other groups have also published, that there are some patients who may not have those mutations at baseline but may actually acquire or have detectible mutations at relapse. So, if you don’t have FLT3 at baseline, your physician may assume that the FLT3 is not there, not do mutational testing. But in fact, that may not be true. So, it is important to retest about 15 percent, one five percent, in our publications can acquire a detectible FLT3. Which is critical because this could then change your treatment.

IDH1 and two are rarely lost or acquired, but we have seen a few five percent or so cases of that. So, it’s still better to check for that. And then TP53 we check for because now we have these new research clinical trials, phase one, two, that are showing some very encouraging activity in TP53. So, these are probably the main things to retest for.

There’s also some new clinical data emerging with a new drug called menin inhibitor that targets a particular chromosome abnormality, MLL rearrangement. This is again in a phase one setting, so the data may not be widely disseminated. But we’re seeing some very encouraging activity with menin inhibitors.  

And so, we are 100 percent checking for the MLL rearrangement chromosome, which can be done on FISH, or routine chromosome.

And if that is there then trying to get on one of the menin inhibitor trials, they’re opening about 25, 30 centers with different menin inhibitors, would be a very, very good option because we think these will be the next molecular or chromosome-targeted breakthrough in AML.

Katherine:                   

We’ve been discussing how molecular testing results lead to targeted therapy. How do targeted therapies work?

Dr. Daver:   

Targeted therapy means that we’re targeting a particular mutation. Now we may be targeting in different ways. So, some of the drugs, like FLT3 inhibitors, these are the most established and oldest targeted therapies in acute myeloid leukemia, been in development for about 18 to 20 years, work by blocking a particular receptor, the FLT3 receptor.

That receptor, when blocked, removes the growth and proliferation signal to the leukemia blast. And that receptor is much more preferentially and heavily expressed on the surface of the acute myeloid leukemia cell as compared to the normal, healthy myeloid or lymphoid cell. So, basically, we are shutting down the growth signals, resulting in eventual death of the leukemia blast and that’s how FLT3 inhibitors work. So, it’s a more of a direct activity resulting in cell death over a few days and quick action. On the other hand, we have what also is called targeted therapies but act very differently. These are IDH1, IDH2 inhibitors.

So, when you use an IDH1 or two inhibitor, they do go to the IDH1 and two receptor on the surface of the acute myeloid leukemia cell, but actually, they don’t result in the death of the cell. They actually cause what we call differentiation.

So, they promote that immature abnormal leukemia cell to undergo maturation and become a normal myeloid cell, which, over time, will die because normal cells have a finite lifespan, and they will die. As compared to leukemia blasts, which can live on much, much, much longer. And so, this process is called differentiation. So, FLT3 inhibitor, very different direct cell death. IDH inhibitor, very different from most maturation differentiation of immature cells to mature cells and takes longer. So, this is important clinically because with FLT3 inhibitors. We see responses quickly, one to two months. IDH inhibitors it takes longer, three to five months.

And so, targeted therapy is not one and all the same. You may be targeting a particular receptor, but the modality of action downstream may be very different.

Katherine:                   

What’s the treatment regimen for targeted therapies, and how long are patients treated with these types of therapies?

Dr. Daver:   

Yeah. I mean, that’s an area of big research. There’s no one field of answer yet for – and I don’t think there will be.

Of course, eventually. So, it really depends on; 1) What setting we’re using it in? Newly diagnosed, relapsed AML. In relapsed AML, with most targeted therapies, whether you’re use is a single agent, like FLT3, IDH1, IDH2, TP53, MLL-targeted agents, the goal is to get a patient to transplant.

Transplant, meaning allogeneic stem cell transplant using a sibling donor or a match-generated donor.

Because in relapsed AML without transplant, irrespective of the genetics and chromosomes, all relapsed AML have very poor outcome. The survival is only 20 percent or less without transplant.

If we can get a patient to transplant, we do have a good chance of long-term survival. So, the goal is transplant. And we usually use a targeted therapy for short, finite period, two to four months, to get a remission, get to transplant, hope that will cure the disease.

In front line, it’s quite different. We’re using induction chemotherapy with FLT3 inhibitors. In some research trials, we’re adding IDH1 and two inhibitors. We’re using Venetoclax, which is a kind of a targeted therapy.

Also, the BCL2 in combination with hypomethylating agents. And here, the targeted therapy is often used indefinitely. At least for one or two years. But in our approach and our guidelines, we continue the FLT3 inhibitor, IDH1 or two inhibitor or Venetoclax, as long as patient is tolerating it and does not have disease progression.

So, these are being used kind of similar to CML, chronic myeloid leukemia, where we use tyrosine kinase inhibitors or myelofibrosis, where you use jak inhibitors. They don’t cure the disease, but they continue to control the disease as long as you take them.

And in the end, we call this functional cure.

If somebody takes a FLT3 inhibitor and lives 20-plus years, semantically, he was never a cure, like an infection gets cured. But functionally, to me, he lived a normal life, and he was cured.

Dr. Daver:                    

And so, that’s how we’re using those inhibitors in the frontline setting different from the relapse setting.

Katherine:                   

How do these newer therapies differ from more traditional chemotherapy?

Dr. Daver:   

Yeah. Dramatically different. Completely different from traditional chemotherapy. So, to put it in more layman terms, traditional chemotherapy is like a nuclear bomb. Right? You – There’s a lot of things there in the marrow. You don’t know what’s good. You don’t know what’s bad. Blow it all up and hope that, when the new plants grow, the good ones grow and the bad ones were kill. And, in fact, this is true, to a large extent. Traditional chemotherapy, not to put it down, is actually been curative in a large population of AML for the last three decades. Our group and British MRC and Polish, and many groups have published up to 50 to 65 percent cure rates, especially in younger patients, below 65, with traditional chemotherapy.

So, this is not bad. People always get depressed with leukemia. But if you look at solid tumors, I mean, they have never achieved cure rates above 10 to 15 percent till the last decade or so. So, we were still getting 60, 65 percent cure rate. Two out of three.

So, traditional chemotherapy has done great work. But it was that approach. Just nuclear explosion. Take it all out, and hope good stuff comes.

Now the targeted therapy’s like a sniper. It’s actually looking for the particular leukemia cells and trying to take them out one by one with minimum collateral damage to your healthy bone marrow cells, which are important to produce red cells, platelets, white cells. So, guess what? There’s much less toxicity. You don’t see the hair loss with these agents. You don’t see the mouth sores and mucositis. GI complications are much less; infection risk is usually less.

Not to say they don’t have their own side effects. Unfortunately, even the targeted therapies have unique side effects. But, in general, those side effects are much less impactful in a negative quality-of-life way and much more manageable and tolerable. So – And, in the end of the day, they’re actually often more effective.

So, for example, with the FLT3 inhibitor, the study that was done with Gilterinib and Quizartinib, two very potent FLT3 inhibitors, was looking at a single-agent FLT3 inhibitor versus three-drug, high-intensity combination nuclear chemotherapy. And if I told this to any layperson, they would say, oh my God, that’s completely unfair comparison. You’re going to use three drugs, IV chemo, strong chemo, and compare it to one oral targeted pill. There’s no way the pill can be even equal, leave apart, win.

But guess what? The targeted therapy actually won. It not only was equal. It doubled the response rates, it reduced the toxicities and early mortality and led to improved overall survival, the gold standard. So, this shows that even though they are sniper, they can actually be much more effective with less toxicity. So, it’s a win-win. Better, tolerable, and more effective. Now the next stage within then decade, we think, it’s not one or the either, it’s really a combination. So, we’re reducing the dose of chemotherapy. So, we’re not making it as nuclear as it was. It’s still intense. But much more tolerable. And we’re compensating for that by adding the targeted therapy.

And, in fact, in the end, we expect much higher responses and survival with much better tolerability and lower early mortality. But I don’t think we’re at a stage where traditional chemotherapy is gone. Maybe 10, 12 years from now, as many more developments come, we’ll get there. But I think it still has a role, especially in the younger AML patients.

Katherine:                   

Dr. Daver, you mentioned the – some common side effects of chemotherapy. What about some of the newer therapies? Do they also have side effects?

Dr. Daver:                    

Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, every therapy we have in leukemia has a side effect. There’s no drug I can mention that is just devoid of them. Of course, some are less, and some are more. So, to be more specific, I think, for example, IDH1, IDH2 inhibitors, these are probably one of the most tolerable treatments we have in all of leukemia treatment. In general, they don’t cause much myelosuppression. Meaning, drop in blood counts. They don’t cause hair loss. They don’t cause mouth sores and GI upset in majority of people.

They’re always some patients who may. But what they can cause are two things: Number one, is they can cause what we call the differentiation syndrome.

And differentiation syndrome means the blasts that are going from the immature state to the mature state; in that process, they can cause an inflammatory reaction. And this can manifest with fever and cough, and chest pain, hypoxia. It’s something that’s actually very, very easily treatable, giving steroids for three or four days will take care of it. But many times, people were not aware of this. And so, often, we saw this was missed in the community.

So, that’s one specific example. With the FLT3 inhibitors, sometimes we see that they can cause more prolonged drop in blood counts, and count recovery can be delayed. Or we can sometimes see that they may cause some cardiac signals; increase in cardiac intervals. Again, something that, with close monitoring, bloodwork, keeping the electrolytes normal, can be managed. But I don’t want to go through the whole list. But the point is that there are specific and unique side effects that can be seen with particular targeted therapies.

And again, this is a learning curve where we have done these trials for eight to 10 years. So, we became familiar. But when the drug is approved, it’s a – it’s kind of a night-and-day situation in the community. They didn’t have the drug yesterday. They have it today. But there may not be any learning curve there. So, I think that’s where a lot of education and interaction with our colleagues is now coming into play.

But also, patients, I think, need to take this a little bit into their own hands, and also read about the label, read about the drug. So that, if they have side effects, if they actually ask their doctor and say, do you think this could be differentiation? I read about it. Yeah, most people will at least think about it. And I think this could be helpful to make sure that things are not missed. So, we do want patients to be more interactive and kind of  take things into their own hand. Because there are so many new drugs out there that their doctors may not be fully familiar yet.

Katherine:                   

Well, let’s talk about patient advocacy. What are some of the key tests that patients should ask for after they’ve been diagnosed?

Dr. Daver:                    

Yeah. Absolutely. So, I think the key things that patients should want to get the information is: 1) Knowing the bone marrow blasts.

I mean, that’s really basic. Just knowing what leukemia it is. What are the blast percentage? 2) Is, I think, chromosome analysis is very critical to get that information and to make sure we’re not missing acute promyelocytic leukemia, or core-binding factor leukemia, which have different treatments and very favorable outcomes, and would never, in general, never require a allogenic transplant. At least in majority of cases.

And 3), which is the one where we still see that it may sometimes not be available or be missed, is molecular testing.

I think it’s very critical to request molecular testing. And among molecular testing, especially FLT3, maybe IDH1 and IDH2, and TP53.

So, I think these are the most important data sets. Cytogenetics, key molecular mutations, bone marrow blasts, and confirmation of the type of leukemia before we embark on any treatment.

Katherine:                   

How can patients feel confident, do you think, in speaking up, and becoming a partner in their care?

Dr. Daver:   

Yeah. I mean, this is always a touchy area because physicians may feel that this is kind of encroaching on their territory or telling them what to do. And this is always a major challenge. I think when you go for the clinic visits, just to have a list of your questions written down and having them prepared and prioritizing them.

I always say, have your top-three questions ready.

We’ll try to do the others. But we’ll do the top three. And I think, when you have a new diagnosis of AML, the top three should be: what is the type of leukemia I have, and what are the bone marrow blasts? Number one. Do we have any chromosome and molecular information? Number two. And number three: Are there any specific treatments for my specific AML based on that chromosome molecular information? Or do we need additional information, and can we wait for that safely? I think these are the three very reasonable questions which, I think again, most leukemia experts will automatically be discussing this.

But, I think, for a patient, I think that’s important information to make sure they get before proceeding. If there’s time, the fourth question will be: Is – Are – Do we have a choice between high intensity, low intensity? And if we do, what are the pros and cons? In some cases, there may be a choice. In some cases, it may very clear that high intensity is the way to go, or low intensity is the way to go. But still, I think it’s often good to discuss that with your physician.

So, these are probably the four things one can bring up reasonably without the physician feeling that this is going to take forever, and I cannot discuss this. And then a lot of the AML treatment happens in-patient. So, there will be a lot of time for additional discussion. I tell my patients that, look, once we get the basics and the treatment decided, which is what we do in clinic, then you’ll be in the hospital most of the time. If it’s induction chemo for four weeks. Even if it’s Venetoclax, often they’re admitted for five to seven days, they will have more time then to discuss with the physician, the nurses, on a daily basis, and get more of the nitty-gritty.

Things like diet, exercise, lifestyle. Can I meet friends? I think you should not try to bring those things up right in the first visit. Because that may dilute the key information. So, I think staggering it, keeping in mind that many physicians are extremely busy, and getting that information in pieces over time, is probably productive for you and for the doctor.

Katherine:                   

With Covid-19 affecting all our lives right now, what should AML patients be considering at this time?

Dr. Daver:   

There’s a lot of guidelines on general approaches to managing things in COVID. And all of those guidelines heavily center, as we would think intuitively, on precautions.

Hand washing, minimizing contact, avoiding crowded places, trying to get treatment, potentially locally, if there are equivalent options available. We have not changed any of our frontline – we discuss this a lot every week in our faculty meeting.

This is discussed especially, as you know, because Houston currently is a major center affected heavily by COVID, and so, we have discussed whether we should move in a universal way to lower-intensity therapy for all patients. And we haven’t. And there’s pros and cons to that. When we do induction chemotherapy higher intensity, we, in fact, admit our patients for 28 days.

o, actually, even though it’s high intensity, the patient is more protected because they are in the room. Isolation rooms, sometimes. And they have minimum contact with outsiders. So, with COVID, actually, there’s very little opportunities or chances for them to get it. But the chemo is intensive. So, if they did get COVID, then it could be much more difficult or risky, or even fatal. On the other hand, low-intensity therapy is good because it’s low intensity and the risk of COVID, the frequency may or may not be changed; we don’t know. But the intensity we think could be lower because the immune system has not been suppressed.

However, low-intensity therapy very often is given outpatient. And so, then you have the benefit of lower intensity but the risk that you are going to be driving back and forth to the medical center, getting bloodwork, exposed to people in the waiting room, this and that. So, what we decided, after a lot of discussion among a big leukemia expert faculty in our group, was that we will still decide the optimum treatment based on the leukemia chromosome, molecular, age, fitness of the patient like we’ve always done.

And then we just have to try to encourage the patients to do as much precautions as possible. The other thing with the COVID, I think is very important is that, even though you may not be able to travel to your academic institution nearby because it’s harder to travel now, it’s still a good idea to try to get a consultation. We are doing a number of phone or email consultation, either directly with the patient, and even more frequently with their community doctor.

So, I get every day, four or five emails from academic even, and community physicians just saying, I have this patient, new AML, relapsed AML, whatever the case may be, here’s the mutation chromosome information, and I was going to do this. But the patient asked that I run this by one of my top academic colleagues. So, maybe MD Anderson. Some, I’m sure, are talking to Sloan. Some are, I know, are talking to Dana Farber. Cornell, whatever it may be. So, you can always request that. And maybe 100 percent of physicians may or may not do that.

And we’re seeing this collaboration actually. One of the positive things of COVID is we’re seeing these collaborations becoming better and better over time.

Katherine:                   

Oh, excellent. If a patient does need to go to clinic for a visit, what safety measures are in place?

Dr. Daver:   

Yeah. So, there’s a few things we’re doing in clinic is; one is we have staggered our clinics. So, instead of having everybody come at 9:00 or 10:00 a.m., and having 30 people in the waiting room, we really have more time slots.

And we ask people to come three of them at a time in the waiting room. We’re minimizing it three to five patients at most

Of course, there’s a lot of sanitization, dispensation units everywhere, encouraged to use those. The other important thing which, unfortunately, is a double-edged sword, is that we have had to minimize the number of friends, relatives, spouses, that can come with patients.

In fact, the policy at MD Anderson, like most cancer centers, is that nobody is allowed with the patient unless the patient is physically really impaired, as in wheelchair-bound or cannot go to the restroom. Of course, there are exceptions. But generally, I know, and I actually benefit a lot from it too, when patients have their family because the emotional support also helps our medical team to get information across. The patient may be sometimes stressed and forget things. So, what we’re doing more and more is doing phone calls.

So, what I would recommend is, as soon as doctor comes in, say, hey, doctor, can I call my daughter or my wife? I want her to listen to everything. Perfect. I don’t mind. There’s a speaker on. Good.

So, that helps with communication. But those are the big changes we have done from the clinic perspective. Still seems to be working relatively smoothly. We’re still seeing almost about the same number of patients in clinic that we were before COVID. And we have, fortunately, and knock on wood, not seen big numbers of leukemia patients with COVID. And we think the primary reason is because leukemia patients are just very cautious from the beginning. Even before COVID, they knew the risks, and we want them to continue that as much as possible.  

Katherine:

Dr. Daver, thank you so much for joining us today.

Dr. Daver:   

Thank you very much. Always a pleasure.

Katherine:

And thank you to all of our partners.

To learn more about AML and to access tools to help you become a more proactive patient, visit powerfulpatients.org. I’m Katherine Banwell – Thank you, Dr. Daver.

Confused About AML Genetic Testing and Treatment? What You Need to Know

Confused About AML Genetic Testing and Treatment? What You Need to Know. from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

What is AML genetic testing? Dr. Alice Mims explains genetic testing in AML, including the necessity of testing, the effect on treatment decisions, and why patients should be retested over the course of their disease.
 
Dr. Alice Mims is a hematologist specializing in acute and chronic myeloid conditions. She serves as the Acute Leukemia Clinical Research Director at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James.

See More From INSIST! AML

Related Resources

 

How is Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Treated?

 

Effective AML Combination Treatment: Pairing Old and New Therapies

 

AML Genetic Testing Explained

Transcript:

Dr. Mims:

So, in regards to older treatments and being effective, seven plus three, which is an intensive chemotherapy, is still the standard of care treatment for patients with favorable risk AML, if they’re candidates for intensive treatments because it is potentially curative. And 7 + 3 is also the backbone for newly diagnosis for patients with FLT3 mutations, we add a FLT3 inhibitor called Midostaurin onto that, as it’s shows to improve overall survival with the addition of that compared to just the chemotherapy alone.  

And also, hypomethylating agents, which are a less intensive treatment, were the standard of care for patients who couldn’t tolerate intensive chemotherapy.  

And now we’re seeing the addition of other agents being added to this, like the BCL2 inhibitor of Venetoclax 

And recent data in phase 3 trial comparing the hypomethylating agent alone versus adding that agent did show an overall survival advantage. And so, these are definitely evolving, and I think as we are learning more about targeted therapies and how they can best be used in combination with chemotherapy other than single. Agent. But you give two targeted therapies together and having even better outcomes. We hope we continue to make improvements from where we were even just five years ago and do a better job for. 

How is Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Treated?

How is Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Treated? from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

 When diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), understanding available treatment options can be overwhelming. Dr. Alice Mims, an AML specialist, provides an overview of AML therapies and discusses factors to consider when deciding on an appropriate therapy with your healthcare team.

Dr. Alice Mims is a hematologist specializing in acute and chronic myeloid conditions. She serves as the Acute Leukemia Clinical Research Director at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James.

See More From The Pro-Active AML Patient Toolkit


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Facing a Cancer Diagnosis: Advice From An Expert

 

Effective AML Combination Treatment: Pairing Old and New Therapies

 

AML Treatment Options: What’s Available?


Transcript:

For the past 30 years, we’ve had the same treatment options, which have been standard intensive induction chemotherapy that weren’t really tailored to individual patients and had significant toxicity. And not necessarily effective for all AML genomic subtypes.

Now we have quite a bit added to the treatment arsenal for AML, including continuing intensive induction chemotherapy for patients who are appropriate. There’s also been the addition for newly diagnosed patients for hypomethylating agents and a new BCL-2 inhibitor called Venetoclax. IDH inhibitors for patients with IDH1 and IDH2 mutations. The addition of FLT3 inhibitors for patients either newly diagnosed or with relapse or refractory disease.

And liposomal daunorubicin and cytarabine in for patients with AML with MDS related changes or therapy related AML that are newly diagnosed. Lastly, there’s also a hedgehog inhibitor, glasdegib, that’s been approved for newly diagnosed AML patients in combination with low dose cytarabine.  

So, when working with patients, there are multiple factors that we take into consideration when coming up with a treatment decision together and it really should be a team approach. But one of the most important things is trying to understand the patient’s goals of care.

Because different treatments have different expectations, side effects, toxicities that we want to be sure we’re all aligned when we’re making a treatment decision together. Also, other features that we take into account can be age. Other comorbidities, including other diagnosis such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other medical issues patients may have.

So, for roles that patients have in making these decisions, they should know that they’re their own best advocate. And so, as you’re getting to learn your oncologist who’s helping you make these treatment decisions, it’s very important that you talk about things that are important to you in regards to quality of life, overall goals for your life. Ask questions in regard to side effects and expectations for outcomes for potential treatment. Whether they’re curative or more palliative, which can extend life. And for quality of life, it may not be curative for AML.  

So, AML really was considered a single disease 30, 20 years ago. Now we really know it’s likely dozens of diseases based off of looking at molecular features of an individual patient’s AML. So, it’s very important to try to understand what genomic features your AML may have, meaning DNA mutations that are just present in the leukemia cells. Chromosomal changes as well. And then understanding if, based off that information, that that may afford you additional treatment options other than the current standards of care.  

Effective AML Combination Treatment

Pairing Old and New Therapies

Effective AML Combination Treatment: Pairing Old and New Therapies from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

With advances in AML research and a number of new treatments, can older therapy types still play a role in care? Dr. Alice Mims discusses pairing early AML treatments with new agents to boost their effectiveness.

Dr. Alice Mims is a hematologist specializing in acute and chronic myeloid conditions. She serves as the Acute Leukemia Clinical Research Director at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – James.

See More From The Pro-Active AML Patient Toolkit


Related Resources

 

Key Genetic Testing After an AML Diagnosis

 

How is Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Treated?

 

AML Treatment Advances: What’s  New for YOU?


Transcript:

So, in regards to older treatments and being effective, seven plus three, which is an intensive chemotherapy, is still the standard of care treatment for patients with favorable risk AML, if they’re candidates for intensive treatments because it is potentially curative. And 7 + 3 is also the backbone for newly diagnosis for patients with FLT3 mutations, we add a FLT3 inhibitor called Midostaurin onto that, as it’s shows to improve overall survival with the addition of that compared to just the chemotherapy alone.

And also, hypomethylating agents, which are a less intensive treatment, were the standard of care for patients who couldn’t tolerate intensive chemotherapy.

And now we’re seeing the addition of other agents being added to this, like the BCL2 inhibitor of Venetoclax.

And recent data in phase 3 trial comparing the hypomethylating agent alone versus adding that agent did show an overall survival advantage. And so, these are definitely evolving, and I think as we are learning more about targeted therapies and how they can best be used in combination with chemotherapy other than single. Agent. But you give two targeted therapies together and having even better outcomes. We hope we continue to make improvements from where we were even just five years ago and do a better job for.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia

What is Leukemia?

Leukemias are cancers that start in cells that would normally develop into different types of blood cells. It is a cancer of the body’s blood-forming tissues, including the bone marrow and the lymphatic system. Most often, leukemia starts in early forms of white blood cells, but some leukemias start in other blood cell types.

There are several types of leukemia, which are divided based mainly on whether the leukemia is acute (fast growing) or chronic (slower growing), and whether it starts in myeloid cells or lymphoid cells. The main types of leukemia include:

  • Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL)
  • Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
  • Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
  • Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML)
  • Other – Other, rarer types of leukemia exist, including hairy cell leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes and myeloproliferative disorders

In this article we will be focusing on Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) since it is the most frequent acute leukemia in adulthood.

What is Acute Myeloid Leukemia?

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a cancer of the blood in which the bone marrow makes abnormal cells. The “acute” in Acute Myeloid Leukemia denotes the disease’s rapid progression In AML, myeloid stem cells usually mature into abnormal myeloblasts, or white blood cells. But, they sometimes become abnormal red blood cells or platelets. As they multiply, they overwhelm the normal cells in the bone marrow and blood. The cancer cells can also spread to other parts of the body.

This type of cancer usually gets worse quickly if it is not treated. It is the most common type of acute leukemia in adults. AML can also be referred to as:

  • Acute myelogenous leukemia
  • Acute myeloblastic leukemia
  • Acute granulocytic leukemia
  • Acute nonlymphocytic leukemia

Types of Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Knowing the subtype of AML can be very important, as it sometimes affects both a patient’s outlook and the best treatment. Most types of AML are based on how mature (developed) the cancer cells are at the time of diagnosis and how different they are from normal cells. The different types of AML include:

The French-American-British (FAB) Classification

  • M0 – Undifferentiated acute myeloblastic leukemia
  • M1 – Acute myeloblastic leukemia with minimal maturation
  • M2 – Acute myeloblastic leukemia with maturation
  • M3 – Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL)
  • M4 – Acute myelomonocytic leukemia
  • M4 eos – Acute myelomonocytic leukemia with eosinophilia
  • M5 – Acute monocytic leukemia
  • M6 – Acute erythroid leukemia
  • M7 – Acute megakaryoblastic leukemia

World Health Organization (WHO) Classification

  • AML with recurrent genetic abnormalities, meaning with specific chromosomal changes
  • AML with multilineage dysplasia, or abnormalities in how the blood cells look
  • AML, related to therapy that is damaging to cells, also called therapy-related myeloid neoplasm
  • AML that is not otherwise categorized
  • Myeloid sarcoma
  • Myeloid proliferations related to Down Syndrome
  • Undifferentiated or biphenotypic acute leukemias

Cytogenetics

AML can also be classified by the cytogenetic, or chromosome, changes found in the leukemia cells. Changes in certain chromosomes help diagnose cancer, plan treatment, or find out how well treatment is working. Chromosomal changes are commonly grouped according to the likelihood that treatment will work against the subtype of AML.

All chromosomes are numbered from 1 to 22. And, sex chromosomes are called “X” or “Y.” The letters “p” and “q” refer to the “arms” or specific areas of the chromosome. Some of the types of genetic changes found in AML include:

  • A translocation, which means that a chromosome breaks off and reattaches to another chromosome
  • Extra copies of a chromosome
  • A deletion of a chromosome

Some of the most common chromosomal changes are grouped as follows:

  • Favorable. Chromosomal changes associated with more successful treatment include abnormalities of chromosome 16 at bands p13 and q22 [t(16;16)(p13;q22), inv(16)(p13q22)] and a translocation between chromosomes 8 and 21 [t(8;21)].
  • Intermediate. Changes associated with a less favorable prognosis include normal chromosomes, where no changes are found and a translocation between chromosomes 9 and 11 [t(9;11)]. Many other subtypes are considered part of this group, particularly those with 1 or more specific molecular changes. Sometimes, extra copies of chromosome 8 or trisomy 8 may be classified as intermediate risk over unfavorable (see below).
  • Unfavorable. Examples of chromosomal changes that are associated with less successful treatment or with a low chance of curing the AML include extra copies of chromosomes 8 or 13 [for example, trisomy 8 (+8)], deletion of all or part of chromosomes 5 or 7, complex changes on many chromosomes, and changes to chromosome 3 at band q26.

Symptoms of AML

The signs and symptoms of AML vary based on the type of blood cell affected. They are generally nonspecific and warrant investigations for proper diagnosis. The signs and symptoms of AML are:

  • Fever
  • Pain in bones and joints
  • Pale skin
  • Easy bruising and contusions
  • Recurrent infections
  • Unusual bleeding, epistaxis, bleeding gums

Causes and Risk Factors for AML

Although the cause of AML is not known, several factors are associated with an increased risk of the disease. The following factors may raise a person’s risk of developing AML:

  • Age – AML is becomes more common as people get older
  • Being Male – AML is more common in males than in females
  • Smoking – Cancer-causing substances in tobacco smoke are absorbed by the lungs and spread through the bloodstream to many parts of the body
  • Genetics – Researchers are finding that leukemia may run in a family due to inherited gene mutation
  • Chemicals – Long-term exposure to chemicals like benzene, found in petroleum, cigarette smoke, and industrial workplaces, raises the risk of AML
  • Previous Cancer Treatment – People who have received chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy for other types of cancer, such as breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and lymphoma, have a higher risk of developing AML in the years following treatment.
  • Other Bone Marrow Disorders – People who have other bone marrow diseases can develop AML over time

How is Acute Myeloid Leukemia Diagnosed?

No screening exams exist for leukemia.

Doctors often discover that a person has chronic leukemia through routine blood testing. They may also rely on their experience and current knowledge of the disease.

If your doctor suspects you may have leukemia, he or she will order specific diagnostic tests such as a:

  • Blood test
  • Bone marrow biopsy
  • Spinal tap
  • Genomic testing

Is Acute Myeloid Leukemia Hereditary?

Leukemia does not usually run in families, so in most cases, it is not hereditary. However, people can inherit genetic abnormalities that increase their risk of developing this form of cancer.

For example having a family history of other blood disorders increases your risk of getting AML. These disorders include:

  • Polycythemia Vera
  • Essential Thrombocythemia
  • Idiopathic myelofibrosis.

Some syndromes that are caused by genetic mutations (abnormal changes) present at birth seem to raise the risk of AML. These include:

  • Down syndrome
  • Ataxia telangiectasia
  • Li-Fraumeni syndrome
  • Klinefelter syndrome
  • Fanconi anemia
  • Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome
  • Bloom syndrome
  • Familial Platelet Disorder syndrome

Newly Diagnosed AML Advice from an Expert

Dr. Elizabeth Bowhay-Carnes of UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center provides advice for patients facing an AML diagnosis, including:

  • Understand who your care team is including the main attending physician and the main nursing contact/support person would be
  • Designate a family member or friend to play the main supportive role

Preparing for Your AML Appointment

Your first appointment can be overwhelming and can be hard to grasp the realistic expectations of life during the AML treatment phase. Here are some tips and tricks to prepare you for your first appointment:

  • Write down any and all questions you have before coming to the doctor’s office
  • Bring a notepad to the appointment to jot down notes about what is said during the appointment or ask if you can record your visit
  • Consider your values and expectations of your quality of life
  • Keep copies of your medical records
  • Bring a friend or a family member to your appointments to help you retain all the information discusses
  • Consider all your treatment options, including any clinical trials available to you

Treating Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Treatment of AML depends on several factors, including the subtype of the disease, your age, your overall health and your preferences. The types of treatment include:

  • Chemotherapy – the primary treatment options that uses chemicals to kill cancer cells
  • Targeted therapy – medications that target cancer cells, but don’t affect healthy cells. This type of treatment usually has less side effects
  • Other drug therapy
  • Stem Cell transplant – also called a bone marrow transplant, helps re-establish health stem cells by replacing unhealthy bone marrow with leukemia-free stem cells that will regenerate health bone marrow
  • Clinical trials – can involve therapy with new drugs and new drug combinations or new approaches to stem cell transplantation

it is often a good idea to seek a second opinion. A second opinion can give you more information and help you feel more confident about the treatment plan you choose.

What You Can Expect From AML Treatment

Based on your treatment options that you have discussed with your care team, it Is important you understand how treatment may affect you. Some things you should discuss with your care team and loved ones include:

  • Your personal goals and values
  • Results you can expect
  • Potential side effects
  • Palliative care
  • How treatment may affect your life
  • The financial costs of treatment

Recovery and Survival

Leukemia represents 3.5 percent of all new cancer cases in the United States, and it is the seventh leading cause of cancer death. The outlook for leukemia patients depends on which type of leukemia they have, their overall health, and their age.

In the case of AML, it makes up 32% of all adult leukemia cases and there will be about 19,940 new cases of AML in the United States this year. Remission in AML is usually defined when the bone marrow contains fewer than 5% blast cells. For most types of AML, about 2 out of 3 people with AML who get standard treatment go into remission. The 5-year survival rate for people 20 and older with AML is about 25%. For people younger than 20, the survival rate is 67%.


Sources:

“Treatment.” Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment | Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 26 Feb. 2015, www.lls.org/leukemia/acute-myeloid-leukemia/treatment.

“Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treatment (PDQ®)–Patient Version.” National Cancer Institute, www.cancer.gov/types/leukemia/patient/adult-aml-treatment-pdq.

“Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Subtypes and Prognostic Factors.” American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org/cancer/acute-myeloid-leukemia/detection-diagnosis-staging/how-classified.html.

“Leukemia – Acute Myeloid – AML – Subtypes.” Cancer.Net, 18 Aug. 2017, www.cancer.net/cancer-types/leukemia-acute-myeloid-aml/subtypes.

“Leukemia Types, Symptoms, and Treatments.” UPMC HIllman Cancer Center, hillman.upmc.com/cancer-care/blood/types/leukemia.

“Treating Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).” American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org/cancer/acute-myeloid-leukemia/treating.html.

“Acute Myelogenous Leukemia.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 27 Dec. 2017, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/acute-myelogenous-leukemia/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20369115.

“Treatment Response Rates for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).” American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org/cancer/acute-myeloid-leukemia/treating/response-rates.html.

“Leukemia – Acute Myeloid – AML – Statistics.” Cancer.Net, 19 Feb. 2020, www.cancer.net/cancer-types/leukemia-acute-myeloid-aml/statistics.

AML Research: What’s New in Treatment?

 AML expert, Dr. Jessica Altman, discusses the future of AML research, and new learnings that continue to improve current treatment approaches.

Dr. Jessica Altman is Director of the Acute Leukemia Program at Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. More about Dr. Altman here.

See More From The Fact or Fiction? AML Series


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AML Treatment Treatment Side Effects: What’s Fact and What’s Fiction?


Transcript:

Patricia:            

Are there any new treatments on the horizon that you can talk about, Dr. Altman?

Dr. Altman: 

Absolutely. So, I love to talk about new therapies in AML. Until the last couple of years – it had been 40 years since we approved a sustained treatment in the marketplace in AML. We had been treating the disease the same. And over the last couple of years there have been a growth of therapies. We’re now trying to sort out exactly when we’re using one over another. We also have clinical trials where we’re combining novel therapies for adults with either newly diagnosed disease or relapsed and refractory disease. 

We are in an era of looking out at antibody therapy in AML – that’s one of the new waves of treatment. We are still exploring targeting therapies in the sense of inhibition of FLT3, IDH, and other mutations. So, it’s an era where there’s lots of excitement, and I’m hopeful for our patients.

Patricia:     

Yeah. Tell me what makes you most hopeful about the future of research in this area, and treatment?

Dr. Altman: 

So, I think that’s a great question. I think the fact that we now – the deeper the understanding we have of the biology of the AML, why AML happens, what mutations drive the disease, and then how to target those mutations with individual therapies is what excites me the most. So, our basic science research has exploded, and that occurs at a very quick pace, and that’s allowing us to develop therapies at a much faster rate than I would have anticipated before.

Patricia:

What a wonderful way to end our chat. Thank you so much, Dr. Altman, for taking the time to join us today.

Dr. Altman: 

It’s a pleasure to be here. Thank you so much.

Misconceptions in Clinical Trials: What’s Fact and What’s Fiction?

AML expert, Dr. Jessica Altman, addresses common misconceptions patients have about clinical trials regarding treatments, regulations, and standards of care. Want to learn more? Download the Program Resource Guide here.

Dr. Jessica Altman is Director of the Acute Leukemia Program at Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. More about Dr. Altman here.

See More From The Fact or Fiction? AML Series


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Transcript:

Patricia:            

What about clinical trials? What common misconceptions do patients have about enrolling in trials?

Dr. Altman: 

So, I think the misconceptions regarding clinical trials can be very masked. And I think it really depends on the intent of a clinical trial and the phase of the clinical trial. I think that a well-designed clinical trial is almost always the right choice for a patient with acute leukemia at any stage in their therapy. 

That is a bias as a clinical trialist. I think it’s the right bias, but it is still my bias. I think patients frequently worry that they’re being treated as a guinea pig, or they’re not getting an appropriate treatment. What I can tell you is the clinical trials that we and my colleagues across the country and across the world participate in are clinical trials where the patients are getting at least what we consider a standard of care for that phase of their disease, and they may be getting something in addition to that or something that is slightly different, but expected to have a similar response rate. 

We have this phrase in clinical trials, something called equipoise, that if there’s a randomization between options that we need to feel, as the practitioner and as the clinical trialist, that each option is at least as good as the other.  

Patricia:

That kind of goes back to the vetting of treatments before they go to a clinical trial. Tell me a little bit about history. How can we make patients feel more comfortable?

Dr. Altman: 

I want to make sure that I understand the question.

Patricia:

So, how thoroughly are treatments vetted before they go to a clinical trial?

Dr. Altman: 

Great. So, the way that agents get into early phase clinical trials and then later phase studies are these are compounds that have been studied in the laboratory, then studied in small animals, then larger animals. And then, frequently, a drug is started in a patient with relapsed and refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia and found to be safe – that’s what we call a Phase I study. 

Once we know the right dose and the associated side effects from an early phase clinical trial, later phase studies – i.e. Phase II, where the goal is to determine the efficacy and response rate is conducted. And then, if that appears and looks like it’s promising, a larger, randomized, three-phase study is frequently conducted, where we compare a standard of care to the new approach. 

Patricia:

So, patients should be comfortable that the clinical trial that they’re going through has been thoroughly vetted, has gone through multiple stages before human trials occur?

Dr. Altman: 

That is accurate in terms of compounds get through animal studies, and then depending on the way that the trial is being connected, will then be studied in patients either with relapsed or refractory disease or very high-risk disease. But it’s also very important to mention that these pharmaceutical companies and physicians are not making these decisions alone. 

The clinical trials are all reviewed by scientific review committees through the cancer centers, which are other investigators making sure that everything appears appropriate. In addition, there are institutional review boards at every university whose goal it is to keep patients and research subjects in well-done clinical trials safe. That is their primary goal. And the IRBs – institutional review boards – are very involved with making sure that clinical trials are appropriate and that the conduct of clinical trials is appropriate.

Addressing Common Myths About AML Treatment

AML expert, Dr. Jessica Altman, discusses common myths surrounding available AML treatment options, stem cell transplant and how leukemias are classified.

Dr. Jessica Altman is Director of the Acute Leukemia Program at Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. More about Dr. Altman here.

See More From The Fact or Fiction? AML Series


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What is Targeted AML Therapy?

Fact or Fiction? AML Treatment and Side Effects

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Transcript:

Patricia:            

Dr. Altman, let’s talk about some AML treatment myths floating around. I’ll throw some stuff out there, you let me know if you’ve heard this. “Leukemia is one disease.”

Dr. Altman: 

So, I have heard that. Leukemia is actually a number of different diseases, and it’s very heterogenous. There are acute and chronic leukemias. The acute versus chronic really depends on a couple of factors. The biologic factor is the presence or absence of 20% loss or more in the bone marrow, but that also coincides with how patients present clinically. Acute leukemias tend to present more acutely, more rapidly. And chronic leukemias tend to be a bit more indirect. And the treatments are very different for those entities. 

There are also myeloid or lymphoid leukemias, so there’s Chronic Myeloid Leukemia and Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. So, those are the four major categories. We’re talking about Acute Myeloid Leukemia today. Within Acute Myeloid Leukemia, there are multiple different types of Acute Myeloid Leukemia that are really now best categorized by history – patient history – and the molecular and cytogenetic abnormalities of the disease. 

Patricia:

Now, we’ve already learned about a bunch of them. So, “There are limited treatment options” is definitely a myth. Correct, Dr. Altman?

Dr. Altman: 

So, we have had a major growth of the number of treatment options available for Acute Myeloid Leukemia really in the last couple of years. It’s been a very exciting time for practitioners and for our patients that we have now a number of new therapies. So, there is not just one treatment available. In fact, the conversation regarding treatment options becomes quite extensive with patients and their families, because there are choices. And that’s why consideration of goals in the intent of treatment becomes even more important. 

Patricia:

Here’s another one: “Stem cell transplant – the only chance for cure.”

  Stem Cell Transplant, also called a bone marrow transplant, is a procedure in which healthy blood stem cells are used to replace damaged or diseased bone marrow. This procedure can be used to treat certain types of blood cancers.

Dr. Altman: 

Okay. So, that is also a myth. There are certain types of Acute Myeloid Leukemia where stem cell transplant is the most appropriate treatment once the disease is in remission if the goal of the patient is of curative intent. Stem cell transplant is not appropriate for every individual, and for some types of Acute Myeloid Leukemia, stem cell transplant is not considered. 

Patricia:

What kinds of things do you think about when you’re considering a stem cell transplant with a patient? 

Dr. Altman: 

So, again, I go back to patient goals and understanding their goals of treatment. A stem cell transplant is among the most medically intensive procedures that we have. It is also not just a treatment that occurs over a short time. While the actual transplant is a relatively limited hospitalization and the administration and infusion of stem cells and preparative chemotherapy, it is something that can continue to have side effects and alterations in life quality that can persist for months to years afterwards. 

So, that’s one aspect of things that we talk about regarding stem cell transplant. And really understanding what the benefit of transplant is in terms of a survival advantage, versus what the risk and the cost in terms of toxicities are. And that’s the basis of a lot of the conversations we have.

Patricia:

Sure. Here’s one more: “AML patients require immediate treatment.”

Dr. Altman: 

Sometimes AML patients require immediate treatment, and sometimes they don’t. And that depends on the biology of the disease. How high is the white blood count when the patient comes in? What are the best of the blood counts? Is the patient having immediate life-threatening complications of their acute leukemia? 

And there’s some forms of acute leukemia that require immediate therapy to prevent complications, and there’s some forms of acute leukemia who present an extreme distress from their disease, but there are many patients who present with acute leukemia, and we have time to get all of the ancillary studies back – the studies of genetics and the molecular studies1 – to help further refine the conversation, and further design an appropriate treatment strategy. 

Patricia:

What else? What do you hear from your patients that you feel is maybe a misconception or something they’re not quite understanding about the AML?

Dr. Altman: 

So, I think one of the biggest things that I would like to mention is that response rate and cure are not the same. So, it is possible for one to be treated for Acute Myeloid Leukemia and the disease to enter remission, and yet still not be cured of their disease. 

Acute Myeloid Leukemia is a disease that frequently requires additional cycles of treatment or a stem cell transplant after the initial induction therapy to be able to have the best chance for a long-term cure. So, response and cure are not the same thing.

Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Your AML, Your Treatment, Your Decision

Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Your AML, Your Treatment, Your Decision from Patient Empowerment Network on Vimeo.

AML experts Dr. Pinkal Desai, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and Assistant Attending Physician at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and Dr. Tapan M. Kadia Associate Professor, Department of Leukemia at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, share research-based insight on how AML is diagnosed, including the symptoms and recommended tests, and disease management strategies.
 
These experts give an overview of currently approved AML therapies and share clinical trial updates on treatments in development. The panel discusses AML management and how you can ask questions and talk to your doctor to feel confident with your care. Additionally, you will hear from an AML patient who shares their experience and advice for approaching the decision-making process.
 

Understanding and Managing AML Treatment Side Effects

AML expert, Dr. Jessica Altman, discusses how AML affects the body, and the common side effects patients may experience during varying AML treatment phases.  

Dr. Jessica Altman is Director of the Acute Leukemia Program at Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. More about Dr. Altman here.

See More From The Fact or Fiction? AML Series


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AML Treatment and Side Effects Program Resource Guide


Transcript:

Patricia:            

Dr. Altman, let’s talk about some common AML treatment side effects. What are some of the things that patients can expect when they begin treatment?

Dr. Altman: 

So, the side effects depend in part on the actual treatment strategy that’s utilized. It’s also important to note that AML itself has symptoms, and so sometimes it’s hard to separate out the symptoms of the Acute Myeloid Leukemia and the symptoms from the treatment. Acute Myeloid Leukemia is a disease where the bone marrow is not functioning normally. The bone marrow is responsible for making healthy red blood cells, healthy white blood cells, healthy platelets, and also is very intimately involved with the immune system. 

And so, patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia by itself without treatment are at risk for fatigue if the hemoglobin is low, bleeding and bruising when the platelet count is low, and at risk for infections. 

Also, shortness of breath and other side effects from having abnormal blood counts. In addition, the treatment frequently lowers the blood counts further, and the treatment itself increases those risks associated with low blood counts. Patients can be supported with blood transfusions. Patients are also supported with antimicrobial therapy to prevent infections, and if fever or infections occur despite that, patients receive additional antimicrobial therapy based on what the perceived organism is. 

Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, when they receive chemotherapy, are also sometimes at risk for something called tumor lysis syndrome. 

That’s when we kill the leukemia cells, when the leukemia cells are killed quickly, sometimes the contents of the leukemia cells can inflame the kidneys and lead to alterations in the electrolytes and the acids and salts in the body, and that’s something that needs to be monitored for and prevented. 

Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia who receive chemotherapy are also at risk for organ inflammation, and that is something that is monitored with the blood counts.

Patricia:     

What can patients or their caregivers suggest to help manage some of these side effects?

Dr. Altman:    

So, I think the biggest side effect that might be the hardest for us to manage and for patients to manage is fatigue. And I’m a believer that energy begets energy, and so trying to be as active as one can throughout all phases of their treatment I think helps the most. And also, the hopeful recognition that the fatigue should be self-limited, and that with time away from treatment, the energy should improve.

I think that’s one of the biggest things I hear from my patients.

AML Treatment Side Effects: What’s Fact and What’s Fiction?

AML expert, Dr. Jessica Altman, addresses AML treatment side effects, such as nausea and changes in taste, in addition to discussing best practices for researching AML online.  

Dr. Jessica Altman is Director of the Acute Leukemia Program at Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University. More about Dr. Altman here.

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AML Treatment and Side Effects Program Resource Guide


Transcript:

Patricia:          

All right, a little more fact and fiction now. Here’s what we hear from AML patients about treatment side effects. Tell me if this is true or not. “Treatment side effects are unavoidable.”

Dr. Altman:          

I think it’s probably true, but I don’t think it’s completely true. So, I think they’re a long ways away from being in that Hollywood picture of someone with cancer vomiting over the toilet. We have very good anti-nausea therapy that we give as preventative treatment, and we give the anti-nausea therapy different antiemetics based on the emetogenicity, or the risk of nausea related to chemotherapy.

And we know that. We know how risky an individual and a specific chemotherapy regimen is. In addition, there are additional anti-nausea medications available for all of our patients should they have nausea above and beyond what the preventative medications can handle. So, that’s one that I think, that nausea doesn’t have to occur and we can treat nausea. Many patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, with treatment, will experience fever that is related to the low blood counts and related to the chemotherapy itself. That being said, we give preventative antimicrobial therapy to prevent infection as one of the potential causes of fever.

Patricia:          

Is there an increased risk of sunburn and skin cancer with AML?

Dr. Altman:         

So, some chemotherapies increase the risk of sun exposure and damage and sunburns. IN addition, some of the preventative antimicrobial medication that we use also can cause some skin sensitivity. There is a risk, whenever we give chemotherapy, of an increased chance in the future of secondary cancers. The risk of that is very low, but that is a risk that I talk about with all of my patients. Skin cancer is one of the cancers. There also is potential increased risk of thyroid cancer, increased risk of other bone marrow damage. And so, that is part of the conversation that I have with my patients.

Patricia: 

The internet is a wonderful place, Dr. Altman, but for AML patients or anyone looking up medical information it can be overwhelming and infinite.

And confusing. What are some of the things that AML patients should think about when they’re researching their cancer on the internet?

Dr. Altman:          

So, I think the most important thing is to have a conversation with their healthcare practitioners and ask their healthcare practitioners what resources they recommend. And I think being upfront and telling your doctors that you’re utilizing the internet is always welcome by the healthcare provider. So, I think that utilization of the internet is fine, but just making sure that you ask your healthcare provider what resources he or she recommends.

Patricia:          

Right, right. We have a question from Mari. She says, “I had busulfan treatment for my AML with great success. Experienced a side effect of noticeably patchy and thinning hair.”

“Is there hope for finding a cure for this chemo-induced alopecia? Life and self esteem is a huge role in survivorship. It can’t simply be fixed or covered with a wig.”

Dr. Altman:

Thank you, Mari. I appreciate that question. We at Northwestern have a Dermato-Oncology program that we work with. So, we have dermatologists who are very interested in the immediate and long-term side effects of chemotherapy and the skin manifestations of cancer, including blood cancers. So, my recommendation would be to try to seek out a dermatologist in conjunction with your oncologist to help see if there are other options that exist.

Patricia:          

We also had a question from John. He wants to know if there’s a way to combat serious changes in taste and appetite from chemo.

Dr. Altman:       

So, I smirk a little bit because I keep waiting for the food scientist or food engineer to approach me about this. 

The biggest day-to-day complaint that we get from our patients is that the food tastes bad. And we know that while the hospital food might not be the greatest, it’s not just the hospital food. It’s the effect of the chemotherapy on taste buds. I don’t yet have an answer for this, but I’m very interested in finding a food scientist who can develop food that tastes normally for patients who are undergoing chemotherapy. 

What I suggest to my patients during the time period that they’re having chemotherapy is to try foods that maybe they don’t normally eat so that they don’t recognize how different it tastes from what they’re used to. And things that are a bit more bland for patients taste a little bit better, and colder foods don’t induce as much nausea for most of our patients. But another great question that I don’t have the answer to yet.

Patricia:          

I know we talked a little bit about how overwhelming the internet can be, and how confusing a lot of the information is. How can patients identify misinformation and unreliable sources if they don’t have a conversation with their doctor in the wing?

Dr. Altman:

So, I think that as you mentioned, anything on the internet is not a substitute for medical advice. I think the same pearls that I would give to anyone who’s searching anything on the internet – anything that says ‘always’ or ‘never’ is probably not to be trusted, and anything that sounds too good to be true may well be too good to be true. I would start with reputable sources. The partners that you mentioned – the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the Aplastic Anemia and MDS Foundation have really good websites with patient information.

And the emerging growth of this organization as well, we anticipate growth of information available to our patients. 

Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Diagnosis & Prognosis

This podcast was originally published on The Bloodline With LLS on April 22, 2019, here.

 

Join Alicia and Lizette as they speak with Dr. Martha Arellano, Associate Professor of Hematology and Oncology and Program Director of the Hematology and Medical Oncology Fellowship Program at the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. On this episode, Dr. Arellano defines acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and how it is diagnosed. She addresses questions about cause and prevention and how treatment is determined for younger vs older patients. Dr. Arellano also explains the importance of a patient getting a second opinion to not only increase their education about diagnosis and treatment options but also as a way to move forward with a team they trust.