Prolonged responses in patients with MDS and CMML treated with azacitidine and etanercept

Combination therapy with azacitidine and etanercept was hypothesized to lead to improved responses in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients. Thirty-two patients with MDS/chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia were treated with azacitidine + etanercept; 30 completed at least three therapy cycles. At 3 months, nine patients had achieved complete response (CR), two had partial response, 10 had marrow CRs, seven had stable disease, two patients had haematological improvement without marrow response and two patients had disease progression. The overall response rate was 72%; median duration of response was not reached at 2 years. Marrow response rates and duration were improved with azacitidine + etanercept compared to azacitidine alone.