CLINICAL NEWS
Written in Blood
randomized, open-label, phase III
trial, investigators evaluated the
safety and efficacy of azacitidine
versus conventional care regimens
(CCR) in 488 patients 65 years old
or older with newly diagnosed AML
and >30 percent of bone marrow
blasts who were not considered
eligible for hematopoietic stem cell
transplantation. Before randomization, one CCR approach (consisting of standard, “7+3” induction
chemotherapy, low-dose cytarabine,
or supportive care only) was selected
by doctors for each patient; patients
were then assigned 1:1 to azacitidine
(n=241) or CCR (n=247).
Azacitidine (75 mg/m2) was
administered once-daily subcutaneously for seven consecutive days per
28-day treatment cycle for at least six
cycles. In the CCR arm, 45 patients
were assigned to best supportive
care, 158 to cytarabine, and 44 to
induction chemotherapy.
Baseline demographic and
disease characteristics were generally
balanced between the treatment
arms, with more than half of all pat