Predictors and outcomes associated with hydroxyurea sensitivity in acute myeloid leukemia patients with high hyperleukocytosis

Acute respiratory failure in adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia

INTRODUCTION

Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are at high risk of developing life-threatening complications. It is estimated that a quarter of adult patients diagnosed with AML will require admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) at least once during their disease. Acute respiratory failure (ARF) is the main reason for ICU admission and is associated with high mortality rates, depending on the etiology of ARF.

AREAS COVERED

In this population, the high prevalence of severe pulmonary infections highlights the importance of immunosuppression caused by the disease and its treatment. In the early stages of the disease, in addition to pneumonia, which should be systematically sought, leukemia-specific lung involvement (leukostasis, leukemic pulmonary infiltration, and acute lysis pneumopathy) is an important cause of ARF in this population, representing up to 60% of cases. This review aims to help understand the pathophysiology and management of leukemia-specific lung involvement, based on the most contemporary literature.

EXPERT OPINION

The number of AML patients requiring ICU care is expected to increase. AML patients admitted to the ICU for ARF have a high mortality rate, but survivors have encouraging long-term outcomes. Future research will focus on improving risk stratification, cytoreduction, oxygenation strategies, and diagnostic techniques for ARF.

Management of hematological patients requiring emergency chemotherapy in the intensive care unit

Hematological malignancies may require rapid-onset treatment because of their short doubling time, notably observed in acute leukemias and specific high-grade lymphomas. Furthermore, in targeted onco-hematological scenarios, chemotherapy is deemed necessary as an emergency measure when facing short-term, life-threatening complications associated with highly chemosensitive hematological malignancies. The risks inherent in the disease itself, or in the initiation of treatment, may then require admission to the intensive care unit (ICU) to optimize monitoring and initial management protocols. Hyperleukocytosis and leukostasis in acute leukemias, tumor lysis syndrome, and disseminated intravascular coagulation are the most frequent onco-hematological complications requiring the implementation of emergency chemotherapy in the ICU. Chemotherapy must also be started urgently in secondary hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis. Tumor-induced microangiopathic hemolytic anemia and plasma hyperviscosity due to malignant monoclonal gammopathy represent infrequent yet substantial indications for emergency chemotherapy. In all cases, the administration of emergency chemotherapy in the ICU requires close collaboration between intensivists and hematology specialists. In this review, we provide valuable insights that aid in the identification and treatment of patients requiring emergency chemotherapy in the ICU, offering diagnostic tools and guidance for their overall initial management.

How I manage acute respiratory failure in patients with hematological malignancies

ABSTRACT

Acute respiratory failure (ARF) is common in patients with hematological malignancies notably those with acute leukemia, myelodysplastic syndrome, or allogeneic stem cell transplantation. ARF is the leading reason for intensive care unit (ICU) admission, with a 35% case fatality rate. Failure to identify the ARF cause is associated with mortality. A prompt, well-designed diagnostic workup is crucial. The investigations are chosen according to pretest diagnostic probabilities, estimated by the DIRECT approach: D stands for delay, or time since diagnosis; I for pattern of immune deficiency; R and T for radiological evaluation; E refers to clinical experience, and C to the clinical picture. Thorough familiarity with rapid diagnostic tests helps to decrease the use of bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage, which can cause respiratory status deterioration in those patients with hypoxemia. A prompt etiological diagnosis shortens the time on unnecessary empirical treatments, decreasing iatrogenic harm and costs. High-quality collaboration between intensivists and hematologists and all crossdisciplinary health care workers is paramount. All oxygen delivery systems should be considered to minimize invasive mechanical ventilation. Treatment of the malignancy is started or continued in the ICU under the guidance of the hematologists. The goal is to use the ICU as a bridge to recovery, with the patient returning to the hematology ward in sufficiently good clinical condition to receive optimal anticancer treatment.

Modern Risk Stratification of Acute Myeloid Leukemia in 2023: Integrating Established and Emerging Prognostic Factors

An accurate estimation of AML prognosis is complex since it depends on patient-related factors, AML manifestations at diagnosis, and disease genetics. Furthermore, the depth of response, evaluated using the level of MRD, has been established as a strong prognostic factor in several AML subgroups. In recent years, this rapidly evolving field has made the prognostic evaluation of AML more challenging. Traditional prognostic factors, established in cohorts of patients treated with standard intensive chemotherapy, are becoming less accurate as new effective therapies are emerging. The widespread availability of next-generation sequencing platforms has improved our knowledge of AML biology and, consequently, the recent ELN 2022 recommendations significantly expanded the role of new gene mutations. However, the impact of rare co-mutational patterns remains to be fully disclosed, and large international consortia such as the HARMONY project will hopefully be instrumental to this aim. Moreover, accumulating evidence suggests that clonal architecture plays a significant prognostic role. The integration of clinical, cytogenetic, and molecular factors is essential, but hierarchical methods are reaching their limit. Thus, innovative approaches are being extensively explored, including those based on "knowledge banks". Indeed, more robust prognostic estimations can be obtained by matching each patient's genomic and clinical data with the ones derived from very large cohorts, but further improvements are needed.

Clinical characteristics and outcomes of children with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia and hyperleukocytosis managed with different cytoreductive methods

BACKGROUND

Hyperleukocytosis in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has been associated with worse outcomes. For cytoreduction, leukapheresis has been used but its clinical utility is unknown, and low-dose cytarabine (LD-cytarabine) is used as an alternative method.

METHODS

Children with newly diagnosed AML treated between 1997 and 2017 in institutional protocols were studied. Hyperleukocytosis was defined as a leukocyte count of ≥100 × 109 /L at diagnosis. Clinical characteristics, early complications, survival data, and effects of cytoreductive methods were reviewed. Among 324 children with newly diagnosed AML, 49 (15.1%) presented with hyperleukocytosis. Initial management of hyperleukocytosis included leukapheresis or exchange transfusion (n = 16, considered as one group), LD-cytarabine (n = 18), hydroxyurea (n = 1), and no leukoreduction (n = 14).

RESULTS

Compared with patients who received leukapheresis, the percentage decrease in leukocyte counts following intervention was greater among those who received LD-cytarabine (48% vs. 75%; p = .02), with longer median time from diagnosis to initiation of protocol therapy (28.1 vs. 95.2 hours; p < .001). The incidence of infection was higher in patients (38%) who had leukapheresis than those who receive LD-cytarabine (0%) or leukoreduction with protocol therapy (14%) (p = .008). No differences were noted in the outcomes among the intervention groups. Although patients with hyperleukocytosis had higher incidences of pulmonary and metabolic complications than did those without, no early deaths occurred, and the complete remission, event-free survival, overall survival rates, and outcomes of both groups were similar.

CONCLUSION

LD-cytarabine treatment appears to be a safe and effective means of cytoreduction for children with AML and hyperleukocytosis.

Benefits of dexamethasone on early outcomes in patients with acute myeloid leukemia with hyperleukocytosis: a propensity score matched analysis

Hyperleukocytosis is associated with a significant early mortality rate in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). To date, no controlled trial has ever evaluated a strategy to reduce this risk, and the initial management of these patients remains heterogeneous worldwide. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of a short course of intravenous dexamethasone on the early outcomes of patients with hyperleukocytic AML with white blood cell (WBC) count above 50 × 10⁹/L. Clinical and biological data of all consecutive patients (1997-2017) eligible for intensive chemotherapy from a single center were retrospectively collected. A total of 251 patients with a median age of 51 years and a median WBC count of 120 × 10⁹/L were included, 95 of whom received dexamethasone. Patients treated with dexamethasone had higher WBC count and a more severe disease compared with those who did not, and they presented more often with leukostasis and hypoxemia, resulting in a more frequent need for life-sustaining therapies (p < 0.001). To account for these imbalances, patients were compared after adjusting for a propensity score, which included all variables with a prognostic influence in the overall cohort. In the matched cohort, dexamethasone was associated with lower early death (OR = 0.34, p = 0.0026) and induction failure rate (OR = 0.44, p = 0.02) and better overall survival (HR = 0.60, p = 0.011), with no impact on relapse risk (cHR = 0.73, p = 0.39). The overall survival benefit was confirmed among all tested subgroups. This study suggests that dexamethasone administration is safe and associated with a lower risk of induction mortality in patients with hyperleukocytic AML and deserves prospective evaluation.

Post-remission outcomes in AML patients with high hyperleukocytosis and inaugural life-threatening complications

Introduction

Patients with hyperleukocytic (HL) acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are at higher risk of early death. Initial management of these patients is challenging, not fully codified and heterogenous. Retrospective studies showed that several symptomatic measures might decrease early death rate but long-term data are scarce. We aimed to analyze whether the therapeutic measures carried out urgently at diagnosis may influence the outcome among HL AML patients having achieved who survived inaugural complications.

Methods

We retrospectively reviewed all medical charts from patients admitted to Saint-Louis Hospital between January, 1^st 1997 and December, 31st 2018 with newly diagnosed AML and white blood cell (WBC) count above 50x10⁹/L. Outcome measures were cumulative incidence of relapse (CIR), treatment-related mortality (TRM) defined as relapse-free death, and overall survival. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed using Cox proportional hazards models.

Results

A total of 184 patients with HL AML in complete remission (CR) were included in this study. At 2 years after CR. 62.5% of patients were alive, at 5 years, cumulated incidence of relapse was 55.8%. We found that every therapeutic measure, including life-sustaining therapies carried out in the initial phase of the disease, did not increase the relapse risk. The use of hydroxyurea for more than 4 days was associated with a higher risk of relapse. At the end of the study, 94 patients (51.1%) were still alive including 23 patients out of 44 aged less than 60 yo that were able to return to work.

Conclusion

We show that the use of emergency measures including life sustaining therapies does not come at the expense of a higher risk of relapse or mortality, except in the case of prolonged use of hydroxyurea. Patients with HL AML should be able to benefit from all available techniques, regardless of their initial severity.

Evolving Therapeutic Approaches for Older Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia in 2021

Simple Summary

The better understanding of disease biology, the availability of new effective drugs and the increased awareness of patients’ heterogeneity in terms of fitness and personal expectations has made the current treatment paradigm of AML in the elderly very challenging. Here, we discuss the evolving criteria used to define eligibility for induction chemotherapy and transplantation, the introduction of new agents in the treatment of patients with very different clinical conditions, the implications of precision medicine and the importance of quality of life and supportive care, proposing a simplified algorithm that we follow in 2021.

Abstract

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in older patients is characterized by unfavorable prognosis due to adverse disease features and a high rate of treatment-related complications. Classical therapeutic options range from intensive chemotherapy in fit patients, potentially followed by allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT), to hypomethylating agents or palliative care alone for unfit/frail ones. In the era of precision medicine, the treatment paradigm of AML is rapidly changing. On the one hand, a plethora of new targeted drugs with good tolerability profiles are becoming available, offering the possibility to achieve a prolonged remission to many patients not otherwise eligible for more intensive therapies. On the other hand, better tools to assess patients’ fitness and improvements in the selection and management of those undergoing allo-HCT will hopefully reduce treatment-related mortality and complications. Importantly, a detailed genetic characterization of AML has become of paramount importance to choose the best therapeutic option in both intensively treated and unfit patients. Finally, improving supportive care and quality of life is of major importance in this age group, especially for the minority of patients that are still candidates for palliative care because of very poor clinical conditions or unwillingness to receive active treatments. In the present review, we discuss the evolving approaches in the treatment of older AML patients, which is becoming increasingly challenging following the advent of new effective drugs for a very heterogeneous and complex population.

Reduce Mortality and Morbidity in Acute Myeloid Leukemia With Hyperleukocytosis With Early Admission in Intensive Care Unit: A Retrospective Analysis

Background

Patients presenting with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at diagnosis are at high risk of severe complications and death, particularly with high white blood cell (WBC) count. In this retrospective study, we evaluate interest of early and systematic support in the intensive care unit (ICU) for AML with hyperleukocytosis (AML-HL) at diagnosis.

Methods

Patients with AML-HL, defined by WBC > 50 × 10⁹/L, primary referred in ICU (“Early ICU”) without organ failure and before initiating chemotherapy induction were compared to patients first admitted in the Hematology Department who required a secondary transfer in ICU (“Late ICU”) or not (“No ICU”). Primary end point was mortality during the first month, and secondary end points were the use of life-sustaining therapies in ICU and risk factors for ICU transfer and mortality.

Results

One hundred fifty-four patients were included: 77 (50%) to the group “No ICU”, 18 (12%) to “Late ICU” and 59 (38%) to “Early ICU”. Mortality at day 30 was higher in “Late ICU” than in “Early ICU” and “No ICU”, with 27.8%; 16.9% and 2.6% respectively (P < 0.001). “Late ICU” patients had an increased use of life-sustaining therapy comparing to “Early ICU” patients (56% vs. 29%, P = 0.04).

Conclusions

Early referral to ICU reduces morbidity and seems an effective strategy to reduce short-term mortality in AML-HL at diagnosis.