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Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Getting the latest healthcare news for you
A gentler drug combo beats standard chemo in high-risk AML. The phase 2 PARADIGM trial found that azacitidine-venetoclax more than doubled event-free survival (14.5 vs. 6.2 months) compared to standard 7+3 induction chemotherapy in fit patients with previously untreated AML. The combo also led to higher remission rates, more patients reaching stem cell transplant, and fewer serious side effects.
A gentler drug combo beats standard chemo in high-risk AML
The PARADIGM phase 2 trial has shaken up the standard of care for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Azacitidine-venetoclax — a less-intensive regimen previously reserved for older or frailer patients — outperformed the decades-old 7+3 induction chemotherapy in fit patients with high-risk, previously untreated AML. The findings, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, suggest that "less-intensive" doesn't have to mean "less effective."
Nearly three-quarters of PARADIGM patients had genetic features associated with poor prognosis. The trial excluded patients with core-binding factor, NPM1, and FLT3 mutations, who already have targeted treatment options.
By the Numbers
Why it matters: For many high-risk AML patients, allogeneic stem cell transplant is the only curative option — and this regimen gets significantly more patients there, with less toxicity along the way. Experts are calling it practice-changing for this AML subset.
