The intensification of chemotherapy has helped improve outcomes in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (AML), but survival rates have plateaued.Researchers hypothesized that liposomal daunorubicin and cytarabine given during induction cycles 1 and 2 would improve outcomes compared with standard daunorubicin/cytarabine induction.In a phase III trial, liposomal daunorubicin and cytarabine was inferior to standard daunorubicin/cytarabine induction therapy in children and young adults with newly diagnosed AML.
Liposomal daunorubicin and cytarabine (Vyxeos) didn't hold up to standard daunorubicin/cytarabine induction therapy in children and young adults with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a phase III trial from the Children's Oncology Group showed.
Among patients with FLT3 wild-type AML, the 2-year event-free survival (EFS) rate from study entry was 62.2% with standard induction versus 51.2% with liposomal daunorubicin and cytarabine (P=0.011), reported Todd Cooper, DO, of Seattle Children's Hospital, and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.
While disease-free survival for patients with high-risk AML was comparable between arms, it was significantly lower among patients with low-risk disease assigned to liposomal treatment, with a 2-year EFS rate from the end of the first induction cycle of 57.5% versus 73.8% with standard induction (P=0.001).
