Changes in the Hierarchy of Risk Factors with Older Age in De-Novo Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).

After recent reports addressed prognostic factors and outcome in older age AML (Burnett et al. Blood106:162a,2005; Wheatley et al. Blood106:199a,2005; Appelbaum et al. Blood107:3481–5,2006; Farag et al. Blood108:63–73,2006) we evaluated 764 patients of 60–85 (median 66) years reduced to those with de-novo AML, known karyotype, and identical consolidation-maintenance chemotherapy, who were part of the 1992 and 1999 multicenter randomized trials by the German AMLCG (Buchner et al. J Clin Oncol21:4496–504,2003;24:2480–9,2006). 521 patients were 60 - 2 x6 and mitox 10mg/m 2 x3) or by HAM-HAM, response and survival did not differ between the two arms in neither age group. In contrast to response and survival between the younger (60- 20.000/ccm was found in 40% vs 39% (p=.52); LDH > 700U/L was remarkably 26% vs 18% (p=.014), and the day 16 b.m. blasts ≥ 10% accounted for 41% and 41% of patients. Conclusion: Approximately 50% of patients 70 years of age or older benefit from standard or intensive chemotherapy by complete remission which continues after 1 year in about 50% of responders. The inferior overall survival in the patients of 70+ versus those of 60-