Acute Myeloid Leukemia: 2025 Update on Diagnosis, Risk-Stratification, and Management

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a bone marrow stem cell cancer that is often fatal despite available treatments. Diagnosis, risk assessment, monitoring, and therapeutic management of AML have changed dramatically in the last decade due to increased pathophysiologic understanding, improved assessment technology, and the addition of at least 12 approved therapies.

The diagnosis is based on the presence of immature leukemia cells in the blood, and/or bone marrow or less often in extra-medullary tissues. New biological insights have been integrated into recent classification systems.

The European Leukemia Network has published risk classification algorithms for both intensively and non-intensively treated patients based on cytogenetic and on molecular findings. Prognostic factors may differ based on the therapeutic approach.

Our increasing ability to quantify lower levels of measurable residual disease (MRD) potentially allows better response assessment, as well as dynamic monitoring of disease status. The incorporation of MRD findings into therapeutic decision-making is rapidly evolving.

The availability of 12 newly approved agents has been welcomed; however, optimal strategies incorporating newer agents into therapeutic algorithms are debated. The overarching approach integrates patient and caregiver goals of care, comorbidities, and disease characteristics.