BACKGROUND

Although most elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are ineligible for intensive chemotherapy (ICT), treatment options remain limited. CURRENT (UMIN000037786), a real-world, non-interventional, retrospective chart review, evaluated clinical outcomes, clinicopathologic characteristics, and treatment patterns in these patients. We present results from a subanalysis of Korean patients in this study.

METHODS

Patients were aged ≥ 18 years with primary or secondary AML ineligible for ICT who initiated first-line systemic therapy or best supportive care (BSC) between 2015 and 2018 across four centers in Korea. Primary endpoint was overall survival (OS) from diagnosis. Secondary endpoints included progression-free survival (PFS), time to treatment failure, and response rates. Data analyses were primarily descriptive, with time-to-event outcomes estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and Cox regression used to determine prognostic factors for survival.

RESULTS

Among 194 patients enrolled, 84.0% received systemic therapy and 16.0% received BSC. Median age at diagnosis was 74 and 78 years, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0 or 1 was reported in 73.0% and 48.4% of patients, respectively; poor cytogenetic risk was reported in 30.1% and 16.1% of patients. Median OS was 7.83 vs. 4.50 months, and median PFS was 6.73 vs. 4.50 months in the systemic therapy vs. BSC groups. Prognostic factors affecting OS included secondary AML (hazard ratio, 1.67 [95% confidence interval, 1.13-2.45]), ECOG performance status ≥ 2 (2.41 [1.51-3.83]), poor cytogenetic risk (2.10 [1.36-3.24]), and Charlson comorbidity index ≥ 1 (2.26 [1.43-3.58]).

CONCLUSION

Clinical outcomes are poor in Korean patients with AML ineligible for ICT who are prescribed current systemic therapies or BSC. There is a substantial unmet need for novel agents (monotherapy or in combination) to improve clinical outcomes in this patient population.