Prognosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia in the General Population: Data from Southern Switzerland

Abstract

Most patients with acute myeloid leukemia are older than 60 years, and their outcome is still disappointing. For younger patients, the prognosis is better if they receive high-dose cytarabine as post-remission therapy and if they are treated in the setting of a clinical trial.

Survival for older patients with acute myeloid leukemia: a population-based study

“…1 A few population-based studies have reported 3-year survival rates of only 9-10% and 5-year survival of 3-8% in patients aged 60 years and older, compared with 5-year survival rates of up to 50% for younger patients. [2][3][4] This poor survival reflects the higher frequency in older patients of poor prognostic factors and comorbidities, as well as a preference among physicians not to treat older patients as aggressively because of the expectation that they are less likely to benefit from intensive therapies. 5 Despite the paucity of clinical studies evaluating different treatment options in older AML patients, 6 there is some evidence available on treatment practices and associated outcomes in older AML patients.…”

Characterization and analysis of the outcome of adults with acute myeloid leukemia treated in a Brazilian University hospital over three decades

“…Among the other variables, age has proved to be an important prognostic factor in many studies (4,(22)(23)(24)(25). In addition, AML with multilineage dysplasia has been associated with a poor prognosis.…”

Treating the Elderly Patient with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia

“…Most series of older patients with newly diagnosed AML have noted CR rates between 40 and 60 percent [2,4,5,8,12,[17][18][19][20][21]. While suitably selected older patients given aggressive induction therapy may achieve CR at a rate approximating that of younger patients [12], others may spend a significant proportion of their remaining life in a hospital setting receiving treatment.…”