New drugs before, during, and after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for patients with acute myeloid leukemia

Haematologica. 2023 Feb 1;108(2):321-341. doi: 10.3324/haematol.2022.280798.

Abstract

The treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has evolved over the past few years with the advent of next-generation sequencing. Targeted therapies alone or in combination with low-dose or high-intensity chemotherapy have improved the outcome of patients with AML treated in the frontline and relapsed/refractory settings. Despite these advances, allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-HCT) remains essential as consolidation therapy following frontline treatment in intermediate-and adverse-risk and relapsed/refractory disease. However, many patients relapse, with limited treatment options, hence the need for post-transplant strategies to mitigate relapse risk. Maintenance therapy following allo-HCT was developed for this specific purpose and can exploit either a direct anti-leukemia effect and/or enhance the bona fide graft-versus-leukemia effect without increasing the risk of graft-versus-host disease. In this paper, we summarize novel therapies for AML before, during, and after allo-HCT and review ongoing studies.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Graft vs Host Disease* / etiology
  • Graft vs Host Disease* / prevention & control
  • Graft vs Leukemia Effect
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation* / adverse effects
  • High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing
  • Humans
  • Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute* / genetics
  • Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute* / therapy