Recent developments in acute myelogenous leukemia therapy.

Recent progress has been made in several areas in the treatment of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML): prognostic factors, allogeneic bone marrow transplantation, and new and targeted therapies. Delineation and clarification of prognostic factors have led to improved risk determination, with research moving from cytogenetics to an examination of molecular markers. Trends in the area of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation include broad adoption of reduced-intensity conditioning despite the lack of prospective comparative studies. Although the preponderance of data has established this as a feasible option, a true understanding of how much of an advantage it conveys needs to be established in prospective studies. The use of alternative donors is another advance, and recent data are promising, but survival is poor if transplantation is performed when disease is active, especially during refractory relapse or refractory disease. When haploidentical matched donors are