Photo Credit: Md Babul Hosen
The following is a summary of “Effect of hypomethylating agents on prognosis in acute myeloid leukemia patients treated with HAG priming: a systematic review and meta-analysis,” published in the December 2024 issue of Hematology by Li et al.
Hypomethylation agents (HMA) and the HAG regimen show potential in treating Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), particularly in elderly or unfit patients.
Researchers conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the effect of HMA combined with the HAG regimen on AML treatment.
They conducted a meta-analysis of 38 studies involving 1,195 patients with AML to compare the clinical efficacy of the combination of HMA and HAG regimens versus HAG alone.
The results showed that combining HMAs and the HAG regimen led to a superior clinical response in 1,195 newly diagnosed (ND) patients with AML but not in 245 relapsed/refractory (R/R) patients with AML. Subgroup analysis revealed a higher response rate for azacitidine plus HAG in ND AML compared to Decitabine plus HAG. The combination demonstrated tolerability, low early mortality rates, and manageable adverse effects.
They suggested a trend toward improved efficacy when Azacitidine was added to the HAG regimen for treating AML, particularly in elderly or unfit patients. However, they emphasized the need for further studies to confirm these preliminary findings.
Source: tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16078454.2024.2439054#abstract
