Dr. DiNardo on the Role of Venetoclax in AML

Courtney DiNardo, MD, MSCE, clinical researcher in the Department of Leukemia of the Division of Cancer Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the role of venetoclax (Venclexta) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Venetoclax has become a standard of care for older patients with newly diagnosed AML, says DiNardo. In November 2018, the FDA granted an accelerated approval to the BCL-2 inhibitor for use in combination with a hypomethylating (HMA) agent—either azacitidine or decitabine—or low-dose cytarabine for patients with newly diagnosed AML who are 75 years or older, or patients who are ineligible for intensive induction chemotherapy.

Given the agent’s synergy and rapid median response times in combination with HMAs and low-dose cytarabine (LDAC), investigators sought to quantify the rapidity and likelihood of response to venetoclax-based treatments, and its associated characteristics, in older patients with newly diagnosed AML. The findings were presented in a poster at the 2020 ASCO Virtual Scientific Program.