What results are needed prior to therapy initiation in newly diagnosed AML?

During a meeting of the AML Hub Steering Committee on June 1, 2022, Lars Bullinger, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, DE, chaired a discussion session on the topic “What results are needed prior to therapy initiation in newly diagnosed AML?”, previously identified as an unmet educational need within AML treatment.

Bullinger begins by inviting discussion on the importance of a patient’s history, with Brian Huntly and Uwe Platzbecker, University of Leipzig Medical Center, Leipzig, DE, highlighting particular relevance in cases where chromosomal abnormalities may not indicate a patient’s risk level, or in the context of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). The discussion moves on to explore factors that impact the choice of treatment, including patient eligibility, test turnaround times, cytogenetic profiles, and the importance of patient empowerment. Andrew Wei outlines practical recommendations such as routine collection of RNA before treatment initiation, and invites the committee to comment on approaches to complex or monosomal cytogenetics in higher-risk patients.

Finally, the committee discusses the need for measurable residual disease (MRD) testing prior to initiation of therapy, highlighting recent data and the impact on transplantation, and comparing different treatment approaches and the role of posttransplant maintenance.