Clofarabine in the Treatment of Newly Diagnosed Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Older Adults

OBJECTIVE:To review the literature evaluating the efficacy and tolerability of clofarabine, a second-generation purine nucleoside analogue, for the treatment of previously untreated acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in older adults.DATA SOURCE:A literature search of the PubMed database (1972-October 2011) using the search terms clofarabine and acute myeloid leukemia was performed.STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION:All relevant English-language articles were reviewed, and clinical trials with patients aged 50 years or older who were newly diagnosed with AML were included.DATA SYNTHESIS:Two studies evaluating clofarabine as monotherapy and 2 studies evaluating clofarabine in combination with cytarabine were reviewed. Clofarabine demonstrated activity in older adults with previously untreated AML. Response rates and median overall survival (OS) for patients receiving clofarabine were similar to those reported for conventional intensive chemotherapy regimens. Responses to the 2 types of treatment remained similar...