Age-Adjusted Schedules of Venetoclax and Hypomethylating Agents to Treat Extremely Elderly Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is associated with particularly poor outcomes in the elderly population, in whom the disease is most prevalent. BCL-2 has been identified as an antiapoptotic protein and promotes survival of leukemia stem cells. Recently, the United States FDA has approved venetoclax, a selective oral BCL-2 inhibitor, for use in conjunction with hypomethylating agents (azacitidine or decitabine) or low-dose cytarabine as a first-line treatment option for those AML patients ineligible for standard induction chemotherapy. However, there are nuances and challenges when using this regimen in the extremely elderly AML patients. Given the widespread adoption of this regimen and increasing prevalence of patients who are well into their 80 s, it is important to evaluate and understand how to safely use this regimen in this so-called “extremely elderly” population. We present here 3 case studies involving AML patients >85 years of age who were treated with venetoclax plus HMA and provide clinical knowledge on how this population should be appropriately managed.