Current diagnosis and treatment for acute myeloid leukemia

Genomic studies of acute myeloid leukemia have been extensively in progress. In patients with therapy-related myeloid neoplasms, peripheral blood before chemotherapy was found to have a minute clone with mutated oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Patients who were in complete remission showed a fraction of mutated genes. This status involves clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential and demonstrates that a fraction of cells with mutated genes cannot result in leukemia. Regarding treatment, the results of two phase 3 studies have shown efficacy; midostaurin is effective in combination with the standard 7+3 therapy, and another mixed compound comprising micellized cytarabine and daunorubicin at a mixing molar ratio of 5 : 1 is more effective than the standard 7+3 therapy. Emerging novel agents include those that inhibit SMO, IDH2, and chromatin modifying enzymes. These treatments are still in the early phase of clinical trials, but some of them have shown remarkable effects.