Following diagnosis, the five-year survival rate for patients with the aggressive blood cancer acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is less than 20%. A phase 1b trial led by Ioannis Mantzaris, M.D., M.S., Eric Feldman, M.D., and colleagues evaluated whether results with the widely used, standard of care AML chemotherapy regimen “7 + 3” (7 days of continuous infusion of cytarabine plus 3 days of daunorubicin) could be improved by adding the drug venetoclax. 

The study, conducted at Montefiore Medical Center and involving 34 newly diagnosed patients with AML, found that venetoclax could be safely added to the standard regimen and that the combined therapy led to a measurable residual disease-negative complete remission rate (a measure of high-quality treatment effect) of 86%--substantially higher than historical remission rates for the standard regimen alone (30-40%). The study lays the groundwork for significantly improving the current standard of care for patients who are newly diagnosed with AML and are fit for intensive therapy. The findings were presented at the 66th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition in December 2024 and published online on February 7 in Blood.

Dr. Mantzaris is an associate professor of oncology and of medicine at Einstein and a member of the National Cancer Institute-designated Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center (MECCC) Dr. Feldman is professor of oncology at Einstein and a member of MECCC.