16528 Background: Intensive Induction Treatment (IIT) increases chances of longer survival in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). Our aim was to improve outcome and to evaluate safety and tolerability of IIT in very elderly patients (pts). Otherwise they have a median surviving time of 11 weeks without treatment. Methods: From October 2003 to November 2005 we treated 23 pts, 16 Males (M) and 7 Female (F); median age 75.5 years (range 68–95). According FAB classification they were 1 M0, 10 M1, 5 M2, 6 M4, 1 M5. ECOG performance status (PS) was 0 in 6 pts, 1 in 5 pts, 2 in 7 pts and 3 in 5 pts. All pts underwent IIT with different schedules: only a female 95 years old had less intensive treatment. Immune-chemotherapy was also admitted. Schedules were: 3+7 IDA+ARA-C in 8 pts; MY-FLAI in 7 pts; VP+ARA-C 1 = ≥ 5 in 2 pts; IDA+ARA-C 1 = ≥ 2 in 4 pts; ARA-C + 6TG in 1 pt. Eleven pts underwent second line treatment. Results: Five pts are alive and 18 dead. We obtained 7 complete responses (CR) (32%) and 1 partial response (PR) (RR 36%);. The median CR duration was 7.5 months (range 1–12).Throughout IIT we observed 5 toxic deaths (23%) because of infections and 2 deaths not leukaemia therapy related (heart failure). The median Overall Survival (OS) was 9 months. Conclusions: Despite the toxic deaths due to the treatment, we obtained in 32% of the pts CR longer compared to palliative or best supportive care; also the median OS was longer than we can expected without chemotherapy. Our data support in our opinion the feasibility and the utility of an IIT in very elderly patients with good PS. No significant financial relationships to disclose.
Targeted leukaemia therapy: a chemotherapy-free future?