Dr. Damon on Optimal Treatment Regimens in AYA ALL

Lloyd Damon, MD, clinical professor, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), director, Hematologic Malignancies and Bone Marrow Transplant, UCSF Robert O. and Angela W. Johnson Endowed Chair in Hematologic Malignancies, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses optimal treatment regimens in adolescent/young adult (AYA) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) .

AYA ALL was initially defined as patients aged 16 to 21 as these patients had suboptimal 5-year survival rates compared with younger patients and adult patients, says Damon. Now, patients aged 15 to 29 years are considered AYA. Historically, these patients were treated with adult regimens rather than pediatric-inspired regimens, which may have contributed to their poor survival, adds Damon.

Pediatric-inspired regimens are modeled on the Berlin-Frankfurt-Munich regimen, which consists of a myelosuppressive induction treatment, 2 lymphocytotoxic consolidation treatments, followed by myelosuppressive intensification and maintenance therapy. Data from the CALGB 10403 trial showed that a pediatric-inspired regimen was safe and feasible in AYA patients, concludes Damon.