Evaluating the Impact of the Addition of Cladribine to Standard Acute Myeloid Leukemia Induction Therapy

Background: Treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has remained relatively unchanged over the past few decades. Although recent drug approvals have provided an increase in the number of treatment options in AML, further optimization of standard induction therapy is still necessary. The most commonly utilized induction options have been well studied, but there is a paucity of literature comparing the combination of idarubicin with cytarabine and cladribine. Objective: To assess the clinical effectiveness of the addition of cladribine to idarubicin and cytarabine (7+3 IA) induction therapy in the treatment of AML. Methods: This retrospective, propensity score–matched cohort study evaluated 37 patients with previously untreated AML who received either 7+3 IA or idarubicin, cytarabine, and cladribine (7+3+5 IAC) as induction therapy. The primary end point of this study was complete response (CR), with secondary end points including hospital length of stay (LOS), and adverse event rates. Results: After pro...