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VIDEO: Novel advances in venetoclax, CPX-351 show promise for AML
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Mark J. Levis, MD, PhD, program leader of the hematologic malignancies and bone marrow transplant program at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, reviews pharmacologic advances in the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia presented at the ASCO Annual Meeting.
Levis discusses the results from a phase 3 study that demonstrated CPX-351 (Vyxeos, Celator) — a liposomal formulation of cytarabine and daunorubicin (5:1) — prolonged OS and EFS in patients with high-risk secondary AML and appeared to reduce toxicity, compared with the standard-of-care “7 + 3” chemotherapy regimen.
“This is going to have an immediate impact of the field because it looks at a drug that, I think, is going to get approval based on these results,” Levis told HemOnc Today.
In addition, Levis also highlights several abstract presentations that demonstrated that the combination of venetoclax (Venclexta; Genentech, AbbVie) – a BCL-2 inhibitor – with decitabine or azacitidine resulted in complete response rates of approximately 50%.
“Given … that this drug was already approved for [chronic lymphocytic leukemia] – with a remarkable degree of activity in a subtype of CLL – I’m betting that this is going to appear on the drug shelves in the not too distant future,” he said.
He also highlights results of two early-stage trials involving FLT3 inhibitors that, according to Levis, are generating significant interest. The results demonstrated that crenolanib (CP-868-596, Arog Pharmaceuticals) and gilteritinib (ASP2215, Astellas U.S.) are tolerable and effective in this patient population.
“While it’s going to be a few years before we get those results, both of them are showing the degree of activity that I think they’re going to end up on the drug shelves fairly soon as well.”