The protocol for treating AML is divided into separate phases: a two-cycle induction phase followed by a three-cycle consolidation phase. Acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, is a type of cancer that affects the bone marrow and blood. A number of different drugs can be used and most people will be offered the chance to take part in a clinical trial. As well as the active treatment you’ll receive to reduce the leukaemia, all patients receiving both intensive and non-intensive therapy will have a type of treatment called supportive care. This is done through a procedure called a lumbar puncture. You’ll have most of your treatment as an outpatient, but you’ll have regular assessments with your hospital healthcare team. Chemotherapy for AML can be divided into 3 phases: induction, post-remission, and consolidation. This means doctors can’t detect any leukemia cells in the blood or in the bone marrow. Throughout your treatment, you might have contact with a palliative care team – they’re also known as a support care team. M Fey and C Buske If you have the FLT3 mutation, after achieving remission you’ll continue to take midostaurin on its own to help stop the cancer coming back. Early symptoms of AML are also symptoms of aging. Background: Venetoclax combined with hypomethylating agents is a new standard of care for newly diagnosed patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) who are 75 years or older, or unfit for intensive chemotherapy. A company limited by guarantee 738089 (registered in England and Wales). This gives the medicines a better chance of working well. This treatment involves a combination of chemotherapy drugs and sometimes targeted therapy drugs. It might be that you could take part in a clinical trial. It is short and intensive, typically lasting about a week. This often involves receiving regular injections of chemotherapy medication that are usually given in hospital. Some patients will also have a stem cell transplant. We also have some important information on staying safe if you’ve got blood cancer, covering things like risk of infection and vaccinations. Induction. Remission induction chemotherapy is administered to produce a complete remission in the bone marrow. Learn more about: Side effects of chemotherapy; Phases of chemotherapy treatment for AML If your intensive treatment is a success, this is called remission. Non-intensive treatment involves low doses of chemotherapy. You’ll have tests to check for this mutation during the first week following your diagnosis. If a transplant may be too risky for you, you’ll be able to discuss this with your healthcare team. Most patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia(ALL) usually receive treatment in two phases, or cycles: Induction therapy; Post-remission, or consolidation, therapy Induction Therapy. You have 2 or more different chemotherapy drugs in cycles of treatment. Annals of Oncology,2016. Intrathecal chemotherapy. This is usually based on your risk grouping. See child pages of Just diagnosed with blood cancer? Remission means there are no longer any signs of leukemia. You usually have chemotherapy directly into your bloodstream for AML. L Cicconi and F Lo-Coco Learn about outlook and survival rates for this cancer. This is a long plastic tube that gives the drugs into a large vein, either in your chest or in your arm. AML attacks the DNA of red blood cells while they are forming in the bone marrow. The chemotherapy will be given to you by intravenous (IV) infusion, into a large vein in your arm via a long, flexible tube. You might have cytarabine as a small injection just under the skin (subcutaneously). Speak confidentially with our support services team for information and support. PURPOSE The B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL-2) inhibitor venetoclax has an emerging role in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), with promising response rates in combination with hypomethylating agents or low-dose cytarabine in older patients. Radiation therapy Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy x-rays or other types of radiation to kill cancer cells or keep them from growing. The oral FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) inhibitor also demonstrated antileukemic responses in patients with mutated FLT3 regardless of anthracycline type or gilteritinib administration dosing schedule. This is called maintenance therapy. This approach is split into two parts called remission induction therapy and consolidation therapy. Volume 24, Supplement 6, vi138 to vi143, Current management of newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia You have more chemotherapy, but in lower doses than in the other phases of treatment. A complete remission is defined as having no visible leukemia cells in the blood or bone marrow and … They’re experts in managing your symptoms and improving your quality of life. After you’ve finished remission induction therapy, you’ll start on consolidation therapy. The goal of the first stage of treatment, called induction, is to achieve remission. We know it’s a worrying time for people with cancer, we have information to help. In high risk patients, the benefit often outweighs the risk, and these patients are usually considered for a transplant early on, after consolidation chemotherapy. The aim of non-intensive treatment is not to cure the patient but to give them the best quality of life for as long as possible. You might also have a targeted cancer drug with your chemotherapy. 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