Treatment Response Rates for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) (2024)

FAQs

Treatment Response Rates for Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)? ›

Based on results of contemporary cooperative group studies, approximately 70–75% of younger patients (age <65) with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) will achieve complete remission (CR) if treated with standard induction therapy (1, 2).

Overall, an estimated 50% to 80% of people with acute myeloid leukemia achieve complete remission after treatment. Complete remission happens more often in children and people under age 60. Remission may last for months or years.

Approximately 60% to 70% of adults with AML can be expected to attain CR status after appropriate induction therapy. More than 25% of adults with AML (about 45% of those who attain CR) can be expected to survive 3 or more years and may be cured.

What is a relapse? AML relapse affects about 50% of all patients who achieved remission after initial treatment, and can occur several months to several years after treatment.

About 2 out of 3 people with AML who get standard induction chemotherapy (chemo) go into remission. This usually means the bone marrow contains fewer than 5% blast cells, the blood cell counts return to within normal limits, and there are no signs or symptoms of the leukemia.

The subtype of AML, whether the cancer cells have certain genetic changes, and a number of other factors also affect the prognosis. The five-year survival rate for adults with AML in the U.S. is 29.5%. For children and adolescents aged 19 or younger, the five-year survival rate is 66%.

According to the American Cancer Society, the 5-year survival rate for people under the age of 60 diagnosed with AML is around 30-40%. For people over the age of 60, the 5-year survival rate drops to less than 20%.

Despite advances in treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the prognosis for patients with relapsed disease is extremely poor. The median overall survival for patients with relapsed AML ranges from 4-6 months and long-term survival from the time of relapse ranges from 5%-20%.

AML can be classified into many different subtypes. The subtype can be important to help determine your prognosis and plan your treatment. Certain subtypes, such as acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), have higher survival statistics than others.

How advanced the AML is. Survival is also affected by how advanced the leukaemia is at diagnosis. If you have a high number of white blood cells in the blood at diagnosis, the outlook is poorer.

What is end of life like with AML? ›

As AML progresses towards the final stages, patients may experience constant coldness, paleness, fatigue, and drowsiness. They may also begin to lose control of their bladder and bowel function. In some rare cases, the blood can become too thick due to the presence of too many cancerous cells.

The median overall survival for t-AML patients with either inv(16) or t(15;17) was 29 months after receiving intensive AML therapy. Seventy-two t-AML patients with any t(21q22) were also studied at the International Workshop ⁴⁸. Their median survival was 14 months, and 18% were alive after 5 years.

A stem cell transplant replaces stem cells. In some cases, a stem cell transplant may be offered for relapsed or refractory AML. An allogeneic transplant is the preferred type of stem cell transplant. If a matched donor is not available, an autologous stem cell transplant may be an option.

Survival of children after a relapse of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is generally poor¹,² but has improved for several groups over the last 20 years along with better treatment approaches. The most recently published study reported a probability of survival after relapse of only 38% at 4 years.

AML mostly affects cells that aren't fully developed, leaving these cells unable to carry out their normal functions. It can be a difficult disease to treat; researchers are studying new approaches to AML therapy in clinical trials.

With current treatment regimens, about 80%–90% of people with ALL will reach a complete remission (which means that leukemia cells cannot be seen in the bone marrow). About half of these people relapse. About 40%–50% of people with ALL reach a complete remission and do not relapse.

AML is an aggressive type of cancer that can develop rapidly, so treatment usually needs to begin soon after a diagnosis is confirmed. Chemotherapy is the main treatment for AML. It's used to kill as many leukaemia cells in your body as possible and reduce the risk of the condition coming back (relapsing).

Being in remission doesn't necessarily mean a cure. A remission may be long-lasting (permanent), but remission may also be short-term (temporary).

Treatment for AML is a long-term process. Chemotherapy and other treatment for the disease may take 6 to 12 months to complete.

Some people go into remission after just one round of chemotherapy, whereas others need two rounds of chemotherapy before they are in remission. If after two rounds of induction chemotherapy, you aren't in remission, this is called refractory AML.