Dr. Perl on Evolving Treatment in AML

Alexander E. Perl, MD, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses recent advances made in the treatment of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Everything is changing rapidly in AML, but it was not too long ago that patients were treated with a “one-size-fits-all” approach, Perl says. All patients deemed fit for intensive chemotherapy would receive the same regimen, and all patients deemed unfit would receive the same low-dose regimen to avoid toxicity.

The recent implementation of targeted agents allows for a more effective treatment approach in patients with certain genomic or historical characteristics in their disease. It is now known that FLT3 is a targetable mutation, he explains, and 2 drugs have recently been approved by the FDA for those with IDH1 mutations.

This paradigm shift has all happened within the past year, Perl explains, and he expects at least 4 more drugs to receive FDA approval in the near future. Although researchers have known the biology of the disease for a while, it has taken a long time to apply that knowledge to the development of more effective treatments that can improve patient outcomes.