Ten-day decitabine with venetoclax versus intensive chemotherapy in relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia: A propensity score-matched analysis

Abhishek Maiti, Courtney D. DiNardo, Wei Qiao, Tapan M. Kadia, Elias J. Jabbour, Caitlin R. Rausch, Naval G. Daver, Nicholas J. Short, Gautam Borthakur, Naveen Pemmaraju, Musa Yilmaz, Yesid Alvarado, Kathryn S. Montalbano, Allison Wade, Rita E. Maduike, Julio A. Guerrero, Kenneth Vaughan, Carol A. Bivins, Sherry Pierce, Jing NingFarhad Ravandi, Hagop M. Kantarjian, Marina Y. Konopleva

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

27 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Relapsed/refractory (R/R) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has poor outcomes. Although lower-intensity venetoclax-containing regimens are standard for older/unfit patients with newly diagnosed AML, it is unknown how such regimens compare with intensive chemotherapy (IC) for R/R AML. Methods: Outcomes of R/R AML treated with 10-day decitabine and venetoclax (DEC10-VEN) were compared with IC-based regimens including idarubicin with cytarabine, with or without cladribine, clofarabine, or fludarabine, with or without additional agents. Propensity scores derived from patient baseline characteristics were used to match DEC10-VEN and IC patients to minimize bias. Results: Sixty-five patients in the DEC10-VEN cohort were matched to 130 IC recipients. The median ages for the DEC10-VEN and IC groups were 64 and 58 years, respectively, and baseline characteristics were balanced between the 2 cohorts. DEC10-VEN conferred significantly higher responses compared with IC including higher overall response rate (60% vs 36%; odds ratio [OR], 3.28; P <.001), complete remission with incomplete hematologic recovery (CRi, 19% vs 6%; OR, 3.56; P =.012), minimal residual disease negativity by flow cytometry (28% vs 13%; OR, 2.48; P =.017), and lower rates of refractory disease. DEC10-VEN led to significantly longer median event-free survival compared with IC (5.7 vs 1.5 months; hazard ratio [HR], 0.46; 95% CI, 0.30-0.70; P <.001), as well as median overall survival (OS; 6.8 vs 4.7 months; HR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.37-0.86; P =.008). DEC10-VEN was independently associated with improved OS compared with IC in multivariate analysis. Exploratory analysis for OS in 27 subgroups showed that DEC10-VEN was comparable with IC as salvage therapy for R/R AML. Conclusion: DEC10-VEN represents an appropriate salvage therapy and may offer better responses and survival compared with IC in adults with R/R AML.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)4213-4220
Number of pages8
JournalCancer
Volume127
Issue number22
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 15 2021

Keywords

  • acute myeloid leukemia (AML)
  • decitabine
  • intensive chemotherapy
  • refractory
  • relapsed
  • venetoclax

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Oncology
  • Cancer Research

MD Anderson CCSG core facilities

  • Biostatistics Resource Group
  • Clinical Trials Office

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