Dr. Mannis Talks About Emerging Treatments for Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Gabriel Mannis, MD, assistant professor, University of California, San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses new methods of treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

In the last 6 to 9 months, 4 new drugs have been approved by the FDA. CPX-351 (Vyxeos) was approved as a liposomal version of 7+3 chemotherapy, which combines cytarabine and daunorubicin in a 5:1 molar ratio. In patients with secondary AML, therapy-related AML, or de novo AML with myelodysplasia-related changes, the drug was shown to improve overall survival (OS). OS almost doubled for patients receiving CPX-351 relative to 7+3 chemotherapy.

For patients with secondary AML or therapy-related AML, CPX-351 is the new standard of care for fit patients who are able to undergo intensive chemotherapy. Opposed to traditional chemotherapy agents, patients do not lose their hair as it is much less toxic than standard 7+3 chemotherapy.