The Role of Anthracyclines in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Consolidation

This study was carried out to compare the efficacy and toxicity of consolidation with cytarabine only to consolidation with anthracycline combination in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) achieving complete remission (CR).

This was a multicenter, retrospective, longitudinal cohort study set between January 2010 and December 2016.

Generally, high-dose cytarabine Ied to better survival compared to anthracycline-containing consolidation therapy, as expected. However, for patients not undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), anthracycline use was not necessarily associated with worse survival, depending on the number of consolidation cycles. Post-remission, pre-HSCT consolidation with high-dose cytarabine did not negatively affect survival compared to previous reports. For those without FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) mutation, anthracycline use was associated with a worse survival, but for those with mutation, anthracycline use did not negatively affect survival.

For patients who are ineligible for HSCT, selective use of anthracycline consolidation can be a viable option, while for patients with the intention of HSCT, post-remission high-dose cytarabine is a reasonable option in the absence of available donors.