Analysis of Real-world Data on Postremission Therapy for Acute Myeloid Leukemia With Intermediate Risk Cytogenetics in First Complete Remission

Background We retrospectively analyzed data from 310 patients with acute myeloid leukemia with intermediate-risk cytogenetics in first complete remission (CR1) to evaluate the usage and efficacy of various types of postremission therapy. Patients and Methods Cox regression with time-dependent covariates, landmark analysis, and competing risk models were used to estimate the outcomes and effects of treatment and patient- and disease-related risk factors. Results The early relapse rate and early nonrelapse mortality (NRM) were 12.8% and 4.4%, respectively. In our study, 77.2% of patients completed postremission therapy: 44% received allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), 20% completed treatment with high-dose cytarabine (HIDAC), and 13% completed treatment with intermediate-dose cytarabine. The 3-year overall survival rate was 67.5% for patients treated with HIDAC and 63.4% after HCT (P = .5876). The NRM and relapse rate at 3 years were 0% and 58.9% after HIDAC and 21.9% and 29.3% after HCT, respectively. HCT reduced the risk of relapse (hazard ratio, 0.6; 95% confidence interval, 0.36-0.98). Total body irradiation-based myeloablative conditioning increased NRM compared with busulfan-based conditioning (hazard ratio, 8.33; 95% confidence interval, 2.52-27.45). Conclusion Most patients with acute myeloid leukemia with intermediate-risk cytogenetics received allogeneic HCT, which decreased the risk of relapse but increased NRM, leading to a similar overall survival for patients who received HCT and HIDAC. Our data support the use of allogeneic transplantation for patients in CR1 from a human leukocyte antigen-matched related or unrelated donor after a busulfan-based myeloablative conditioning regimen as a primary strategy of postremission therapy for eligible younger patients.