SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients treated with azacitidine and venetoclax for acute leukemia - a report of a case series treated in a single institution

Introduction Venetoclax combined with azacitidine (AZA-VEN) constitutes an option for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. There is however no data on the COVID-19 incidence and outcome in patients treated with AZA-VEN.Methods Patients with acute leukemia (AL) treated with AZA-VEN at single institution were included in this prospective observational study. Results Thirteen patients were enrolled, 46% with treatment-naive, and 56% with relapsed/refractory disease. Fifty-four percent of patients were males, the median age was 69 years. Six patients (46%) developed COVID-19 during the observation time. The median time to COVID-19 was 24 days from the initiation of AZA-VEN. The 2-month cumulative incidence of COVID-19 was 46.2%. Two patients (33%) succumbed to COVID-19. The 100-day COVID-19-free survival from AZA-VEN initiation was 61%. The median follow-up time was 4.3 months. Discussion/Conclusion COVID-19 constitutes a frequent complication of AZA-VEN treatment in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic leading to death in a significant proportion of patients.

Automated summary

COVID-19 is a frequent complication of AZA-VEN treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to death in a significant proportion of patients.