Improvement in outcomes for patients with FLT3 ITD mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) over the last 15 years is probably due to improvement in treatment strategies, according to a study of 224 patients with AML. After grouping the patients into 5 cohorts according to the 3-year era in which they were diagnosed, researchers found:

• Baseline characteristics did not differ across eras.

• Response rates were: era 1 (68%), era 2 (49%), era 3 (72%), era 4 (73%), and era 5 (75%).

• Overall response rate for all eras was 67% for chemotherapy alone and 72.5% for chemotherapy plus FLT3 inhibitor.

• Median times in months to relapse were: era 1 (6), era 2 (3.6), era 3 (7.9), era 4 (8.1), and era 5 (not reached).

• Median times in months for overall survival were: era 1 (9.6), era 2 (7.6), era 3 (14.4), era 4 (15.7), and era 5 (17.8).

Citation: Badar T, Kantarjian HM, Nogueras-Gonzalez GM, et al. Improvement in clinical outcome of FLT3 ITD mutated acute myeloid leukemia patients over the last one and a half decade. [Published online ahead of print August 24, 2015]. Am J Hematol. doi: 10.1002/ajh.24140.