Subsets of patients older than 65 with AML benefit from allogeneic stem cell transplantation and intensive
chemotherapy (IT), according to a study published in
Hematology. Karin Mayer, MD, and colleagues conducted a retrospective analysis of this patient
population since “AML in older patients is still widely understudied and therapeutic standards are
far less well defined.” In a cohort of 229 pa- tients aged 65 and older, those received either IT
without (n=101, 44%), or followed by allo-SCT (n= 27, 12%), hypomethylating agent (n= 29, 13%),
low-dose cytarabine (n=16, 7%) or best supportive care only (n= 56, 24%). Eastern Coop- erative
Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status predicted overall survival in patients treated with IT,
and combinatorial assessment of ECOG and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation-specific Comorbidity
Index (HCT-CI) was particularly useful to predict outcome in this subgroup of patients.
