@article{RoelligKramerGabrechtetal.2018, author = {R{\"o}llig, C. and Kramer, M. and Gabrecht, M. and H{\"a}nel, M. and Herbst, R. and Kaiser, U. and Schmitz, N. and Kullmer, J. and Fetscher, S. and Link, H. and Mantovani-L{\"o}ffler, L. and Kr{\"u}mpelmann, U. and Neuhaus, T. and Heits, F. and Einsele, H. and Ritter, B. and Bornh{\"a}user, M. and Schetelig, J. and Thiede, C. and Mohr, B. and Schaich, M. and Platzbecker, U. and Sch{\"a}fer-Eckart, K. and Kr{\"a}mer, A. and Berdel, W. E. and Serve, H. and Ehninger, G. and Schuler, U. S.}, title = {Intermediate-dose cytarabine plus mitoxantrone versus standard-dose cytarabine plus daunorubicin for acute myeloid leukemia in elderly patients}, series = {Annals of Oncology}, volume = {29}, journal = {Annals of Oncology}, number = {4}, doi = {doi:10.1093/annonc/mdy030}, url = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-226473}, pages = {973-978}, year = {2018}, abstract = {Background: The combination of intermediate-dose cytarabine plus mitoxantrone (IMA) can induce high complete remission rates with acceptable toxicity in elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We present the final results of a randomized-controlled trial comparing IMA with the standard 7+3 induction regimen consisting of continuous infusion cytarabine plus daunorubicin (DA). Patients and methods: Patients with newly diagnosed AML>60 years were randomized to receive either intermediate-dose cytarabine (1000 mg/m(2) twice daily on days 1, 3, 5, 7) plus mitoxantrone (10 mg/m(2) days 1-3) (IMA) or standard induction therapy with cytarabine (100 mg/m(2) continuously days 1-7) plus daunorubicin (45 mg/m(2) days 3-5) (DA). Patients in complete remission after DA received intermediate-dose cytarabine plus amsacrine as consolidation treatment, whereas patients after IMA were consolidated with standard-dose cytarabine plus mitoxantrone. Results: Between February 2005 and October 2009, 485 patients were randomized; 241 for treatment arm DA and 244 for IMA; 76\% of patients were >65 years. The complete response rate after DA was 39\% [95\% confidence interval (95\% CI): 33-45] versus 55\% (95\% CI: 49-61) after IMA (odds ratio 1.89, P = 0.001). The 6-week early-death rate was 14\% in both arms. Relapse-free survival curves were superimposable in the first year, but separated afterwards, resulting in 3-year relapse-free survival rates of 29\% versus 14\% in the DA versus IMA arms, respectively (P = 0.042). The median overall survival was 10 months in both arms (P = 0.513). Conclusion: The dose escalation of cytarabine in induction therapy lead to improved remission rates in the elderly AML patients. This did not translate into a survival advantage, most likely due to differences in consolidation treatment. Thus, effective consolidation strategies need to be further explored. In combination with an effective consolidation strategy, the use of intermediate-dose cytarabine in induction may improve curative treatment for elderly AML patients.}, language = {en} }