Azacitidine to Consolidate and Deepen the Therapeutic Response Achieved by Intensive Induction Treatment in a Young Patient Affected by NPM1mut-AML Who Has Become Ineligible for High-Dose Consolidation

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most common leukemia in adults. In spite of the most recent discoveries about the molecular landscape of this disease, the treatment of elderly and unfit young patients continues to be a great challenge. The hypomethylating agents (HMA) still represent an effective therapeutic option for these categories, especially for the low-risk subgroups. We report the case of a young patient with NPM1(mut)-AML who underwent a first cycle of intensive induction treatment, achieving a complete remission, but suffered from a serious life-threatening neurologic toxicity. Due to the ineligibility to further lines of intensive chemotherapy, we decided to consolidate the response with azacitidine, administered according to the regular schedule. The minimal residual disease (MRD), monitored through the NPM1 mutation at diagnosis, progressively decreased and became undetectable after 36 cycles of hypomethylating therapy. After 1 year from discontinuation of azacitidine, MRD remains undetectable. Therefore, HMA might still represent a feasible and effective option for patients with low-risk AML, especially when the standard chemotherapy is not indicated, or as maintenance therapy in nontransplantable patients.

Automated summary

Although recent discoveries have advanced understanding of the molecular landscape of acute myeloid leukemia, treating elderly and unfit young patients remains challenging. In these cases, hypomethylating agents may still be an effective therapeutic option.