New developments in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia

Curative therapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains unsatisfactory. However, three recent advances may play an important role in determining how AML is treated in the near future. First, the development of targeted antibody therapy using the anti-CD33-calicheamicin conjugate (gemtuzumab ozogamicin, Mylotarg) represents a novel targeted approach to the killing of leukemia cells. Second, modern molecular methods have improved our ability to identify minimal residual disease (MRD) in patients who appear to be in remission. These methods will allow physicians to tailor therapy, offering, for example, more intensive therapy to patients who harbor MRD. Lastly, the development of microarray gene expression technology allows for the simultaneous study of thousands of genes. With this technology, we may determine the genes responsible for the biological properties of treatment response and relapse in leukemia patients.