Lenalidomide in AML: Del(5q) or who?

Abstract

Outcomes for older adults diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) continue to be poor, especially for patients with therapy-related AML or AML arising from an antecedent hematologic disorder such as amyelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).1 Even the subset of older patients deemed fit enough to receive intensive induction chemotherapy have only amodest (40%-50%) likelihood of achieving complete remission (CR), and the average duration of such remissions is less than a year; reported 5-year survival rates for patients diagnosed with AML after age 70 are as low as 5%.