编者按
当地时间12月7日,本次美国血液学会(ASH)大会备受关注的“ASH老年急性髓系白血病(AML)的临床实践指南更新”专场会议顺利召开。本次会议由指南牵头专家、西尔维斯特综合癌症中心血液科主任Mikkael Sekeres教授担任专场主席。为深入了解指南更新的要点及其所反映的前沿趋势,《肿瘤瞭望-血液时讯》现场邀请浙江大学医学院附属第一医院王华锋教授与Mikkael Sekeres教授展开深度对话,围绕老年AML的治疗进展、临床难点以及ASH临床实践指南的最新更新内容展开了深入交流。此次对话旨在为中国老年AML患者的治疗策略和临床决策提供宝贵的参考与指导。
ASH老年AML指南更新要点
及对中国临床实践启示
王华锋教授
非常荣幸参加此次对话,也感谢《血液时讯》的邀请,希望我们的讨论能对中国临床实践有所启发。Sekeres教授,作为本次指南专场的主席,您认为此次ASH老年AML治疗指南更新中最核心、最具影响力的变化是什么?这些变化反映了老年AML治疗领域怎样的重要趋势?
Mikkael Sekeres教授
感谢邀请,很荣幸能够在此与您进行交流。2020年8月,我们首次发布了ASH老年AML患者治疗指南。同期,《新英格兰医学杂志》(NEJM)发表的一项研究显示,阿扎胞苷联合维奈克拉治疗(VA)优于单用阿扎胞苷,能够显著延长患者的生存期,尤其是对于老年患者。尽管我们在发布指南时已得知该研究即将发布,但由于尚未正式公开,因此未能将其纳入指南内容。
因此,在本次指南更新时,我们首先将阿扎胞苷联合维奈克拉治疗作为推荐方案,明确提出该联合治疗方案相较于单用阿扎胞苷具有显著的生存优势。其次,针对携带可靶向治疗基因突变的患者,我们新增了相关建议,强调靶向药物治疗在此类患者中的重要性。最后,我们更新了关于骨髓移植的治疗建议,特别是对于高风险和预后不良的患者,提出了相应的管理措施。
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Professor Huafeng Wang: It’s a great honor to participate in this conversation, and I would like to thank Hematology Frontier for the invitation. I hope our discussion will provide valuable insights for clinical practice in China. Professor Sekeres, as the chair of this session, what do you consider to be the most significant and impactful changes in the updated ASH guidelines for older adults with AML? How do these changes reflect important trends in the treatment of older adults with AML?
Professor Mikkael Sekeres:Thank you for the invitation; it is a great honor to communicate with you here.In August 2020, we published the first edition of the ASH guidelines for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in older adults. At nearly the same time, the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) published the pivotal VIALE-A study showing that the combination of venetoclax plus azacitidine (VEN-AZA) was superior to azacitidine alone, significantly prolonging overall survival, especially in older patients. Although we were already aware of the forthcoming results when finalizing the initial guidelines, the data had not yet been formally published and therefore could not be incorporated.
In this updated version of the guidelines, we have accordingly made venetoclax combined with azacitidine a formally recommended regimen, explicitly stating its clear survival advantage over azacitidine monotherapy. For patients whose tumors harbor actionable genetic mutations, we have added new recommendations that highlight the critical role of targeted therapies in this population. Finally, we have revised the section on allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, providing more specific guidance on patient selection and management, particularly for those with high-risk disease or unfavorable prognosis.
王华锋教授
是的,我们在得知VA临床试验的结果后,几乎所有中国老年AML患者都开始接受VA治疗。然而,血细胞减少等不良事件依然是临床面临的主要挑战。因此,在使用VA方案时,治疗周期的设定成为关键问题,包括应给予患者多少个治疗周期以及治疗应持续多长时间。对此,您有何看法?
Mikkael Sekeres教授
在ASH指南中,我们对化疗周期数进行了讨论。首先是传统的诱导和缓解后治疗,即阿糖胞苷与柔红霉素的“7+3”方案,建议患者在完成1个周期诱导治疗后,至少再接受1个周期的巩固化疗,仅完成单周期诱导治疗不足以达到理想疗效。对于接受VA治疗的患者,我们建议只要患者维持缓解或对治疗有反应,应继续维持该方案。我有患者已持续使用此方案达四年,仍处于缓解状态,且生活质量良好。然而,临床上通常需要在治疗初期即调整药物剂量以应对不良事件。
在美国,阿扎胞苷每个周期(28天为一个周期)给药7天,维奈克拉给药28天。对于高龄患者(70岁及以上),通常采用阿扎胞苷7天联合维奈克拉7或14天的方案,最终可调整为7天阿扎胞苷加7天维奈克拉。对于较年轻的老年患者(<70岁),可从维奈克拉21天或28天开始,但在随后的周期中常需减少至21天、14天,甚至7天,以提高耐受性并维持疗效。
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Professor Huafeng Wang:Yes, after we learned the results of the VA clinical trial, almost all elderly AML patients in China began to receive VA treatment. However, adverse events such as cytopenias remain a major clinical challenge. Therefore, determining the treatment cycle for the VA regimen becomes a key issue, including how many treatment cycles should be given to patients and how long the treatment should last. What are your thoughts on this?
Professor Mikkael Sekeres:In the ASH guidelines, we discussed the number of chemotherapy cycles. First, for traditional induction and post-remission therapy, the "7+3" regimen of cytarabine and idarubicin is recommended. After completing one cycle of induction therapy, patients should receive at least one additional cycle of consolidation chemotherapy; completing just one induction cycle is insufficient for optimal results. For patients receiving VA therapy, we recommend continuing the regimen as long as the patient remains in remission or responds to the treatment. I have patients who have been on this regimen for four years and are still in remission with good quality of life. However, clinically, adjustments to the drug dosage are often necessary early in the treatment to manage adverse events.
In the U.S., azacitidine is given for 7 days during each 28-day cycle, and venetoclax is administered for 28 days. For elderly patients (aged 70 and above), a typical regimen is combining azacitidine for 7 days with venetoclax for 7 to 14 days, which can ultimately be adjusted to 7 days of azacitidine plus 7 days of venetoclax. For younger elderly patients (under 70 years), treatment can start with venetoclax for 21 or 28 days, but in subsequent cycles, the duration is often reduced to 21 days, 14 days, or even 7 days to improve tolerability and maintain efficacy.
fit/unfit分层视角下老年AML治疗策略
中外实践对比与优化路径
王华锋教授
首先,在中国大体也是这样,但不是非常标准。本次指南更新将帮助我们做得更好。其次,在我们中心,通常也会将患者分为两组。第一组是适合强化疗(fit)的老年患者,通常年龄大约在60~75岁。第二组是不适合强化疗(unfit)的老年AML患者,特别是极高龄患者,如您提到的80岁或90岁以上的患者。其中对于fit老年患者,我们通常以VA为基础治疗,并可能根据具体情况加入另一种化疗药物,如阿糖胞苷或高三尖杉酯碱(HHT)。那么,在美国的情况是否也是如此?
Mikkael Sekeres教授
对于fit老年患者,现有的治疗指南推荐采用传统的“7+3”方案。尽管部分中心已开始将维奈克拉纳入其中,但其尚未成为标准治疗方案。我们仍在等待更多随机对照临床数据的发布,比较“7+3”联合维奈克拉与单用“7+3”的疗效,以便进一步验证其临床效果。
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Professor Huafeng Wang:First, this is generally the case in China as well, although it's not very standardized. The update of this guideline will help us do better. Secondly, at our center, we usually divide patients into two groups. The first group consists of elderly patients who are fit for intensive chemotherapy, typically aged between 60 and 75. The second group includes elderly AML patients who are unfit for intensive chemotherapy, particularly those who are extremely elderly, such as patients over 80 or even 90 years old, as you mentioned. For fit elderly patients, we usually base treatment on VA and may add another chemotherapy agent depending on the situation, such as cytarabine or homoharringtonine (HHT). Is the situation similar in the U.S.?
Professor Mikkael Sekeres:For fit elderly patients, current treatment guidelines recommend the traditional "7+3" regimen. Although some centers have started including venetoclax in the regimen, it has not yet become a standard treatment. We are still waiting for more randomized controlled clinical data to be released, comparing the efficacy of "7+3" combined with venetoclax versus "7+3" alone, to further validate its clinical effect.
王华锋教授
在这个过程,您认为是否需要减少化疗或维奈克拉的剂量?
Mikkael Sekeres教授
目前,我们尚未确定“7+3”联合维奈克拉治疗的最佳剂量和给药方案。来自法国的研究表明,7天阿扎胞苷加7天维奈克拉的方案可能与7天阿扎胞苷加28天维奈克拉的方案效果相当。我们的研究也探讨了80岁及90岁以上老年患者在接受阿扎胞苷和维奈克拉治疗时的情况,结果显示,绝大多数患者在治疗初期即调整为7天阿扎胞苷加7天维奈克拉方案。因此,可能需要进一步减少药物剂量,但关于需要减少哪种药物剂量,目前仍无明确结论。
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Professor Huafeng Wang:In this process, do you think it is necessary to reduce the dosage of chemotherapy or Venetoclax?
Professor Mikkael Sekeres:Currently, the optimal dosage and administration schedule for the combination of "7+3" chemotherapy and Venetoclax have not been determined. A study from France suggests that a regimen of 7 days of Azacitidine plus 7 days of Venetoclax may be comparable in efficacy to the 7 days of Azacitidine plus 28 days of Venetoclax. Our own research also examined the treatment of elderly patients over 80 or 90 years old with Azacitidine and Venetoclax, and the results showed that the majority of patients were adjusted to the 7 days of Azacitidine and 7 days of Venetoclax regimen early in the treatment. Therefore, further dose reduction of the drugs may be necessary, but there is no clear conclusion regarding which drug's dose should be reduced at this time.
王华锋教授
针对unfit老年AML患者,本次指南仍推荐维奈克拉联合阿扎胞苷?
Mikkael Sekeres教授
正如您所提到的,在2020年发布的第一版指南中,我们将患者分为适合接受强化治疗和非强化治疗两类。然而,在患者接受阿扎胞苷联合维奈克拉、地西他滨联合维奈克拉或低剂量阿糖胞苷联合维奈克拉治疗后,我们发现这些患者出现的副作用与接受“7+3”化疗的患者相似。基于这一观察,我们决定去除“强化治疗”和“非强化治疗”这一表述,以避免误导大家认为阿扎胞苷联合维奈克拉治疗比较简单,或不存在如血细胞减少和真菌感染等严重并发症。
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Professor Huafeng Wang:For elderly AML patients who are unfit for intensive treatment, does the current guideline still recommend the combination of Venetoclax and Azacitidine?
Professor Mikkael Sekeres:As you mentioned, in the first version of the guidelines published in 2020, we categorized patients into those suitable for intensive treatment and those unsuitable for intensive treatment. However, after patients received Azacitidine combined with Venetoclax, Decitabine combined with Venetoclax, or low-dose Cytarabine combined with Venetoclax, we observed that the side effects in these patients were similar to those experienced by patients receiving the "7+3" chemotherapy regimen. Based on this observation, we decided to remove the terms "intensive treatment" and "non-intensive treatment" to avoid misleading people into thinking that Azacitidine combined with Venetoclax is easier to administer or does not carry serious complications such as cytopenias and fungal infections.
靶向治疗进展
FLT3/IDH抑制剂在老年AML中的最新推荐
王华锋教授
此外,目前还有很多其他的靶向药物,如FLT3-ITD抑制剂和IDH1、IDH2抑制剂以及针对NPM1和KMT2A突变的Menin抑制剂等,您认为在老年AML患者中如何使用这些药物?
Mikkael Sekeres教授
我们通常认为在治疗中添加更多药物可使患者获益,但实际情况并非总是如此。例如,在IDH1突变的AML患者中,阿扎胞苷联合艾伏尼布的治疗方案显著提高了生存期,其效果是单用阿扎胞苷的三倍。因此,我们在指南中推荐此联合治疗。相反,针对IDH2突变的AML患者,阿扎胞苷联合恩西地平的治疗并未显示出明显的生存优势,因此我们建议继续使用单药阿扎胞苷治疗。
对于FLT3抑制剂的使用,情况较为复杂。奎扎替尼的临床数据表明,“7+3”联合奎扎替尼在FLT3突变的AML患者中相比单用“7+3”治疗有显著生存优势。此外,该研究也纳入了老年患者,尽管在这一人群中的效果较小。在米哚妥林的研究中,由于未纳入老年患者,所以此前未对老年AML患者使用FLT3抑制剂作出明确的推荐。
对于不适合接受强化疗的老年FLT3阳性AML患者,目前尚无明确的最佳治疗方案。我们尚不确定这些患者是否应接受阿扎胞苷联合维奈克拉治疗,还是阿扎胞苷联合FLT3抑制剂,或是三者联合治疗。因此,基于目前的临床数据不足,我们的建议是首先给予这些患者阿扎胞苷联合维奈克拉治疗,待患者出现复发时,再考虑加入FLT3抑制剂的治疗。
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Professor Huafeng Wang:In addition, there are currently many other targeted therapies, such as FLT3-ITD inhibitors, IDH1 and IDH2 inhibitors, and Menin inhibitors for NPM1 and KMT2A mutations. How do you think these drugs should be used in elderly AML patients?
Professor Mikkael Sekeres:We generally believe that adding more drugs to the treatment regimen could benefit patients, but this is not always the case. For example, in IDH1-mutated AML patients, the combination of Azacitidine and Ivosidenib significantly improved survival, with results three times better than using Azacitidine alone. Therefore, we recommend this combination in the guidelines. On the other hand, for IDH2-mutated AML patients, the combination of Azacitidine and Enasidenib did not show a clear survival advantage, so we suggest continuing treatment with Azacitidine monotherapy.
The use of FLT3 inhibitors is more complex. Clinical data with Quizartinib suggest that combining “7+3” chemotherapy with Quizartinib in FLT3-mutated AML patients leads to a significant survival advantage over using “7+3” alone. Additionally, the study included elderly patients, although the effect in this population was smaller. In the Midostaurin study, elderly patients were not included, which is why we have not previously made a clear recommendation for using FLT3 inhibitors in elderly AML patients.
For elderly FLT3-positive AML patients who are unfit for intensive chemotherapy, there is currently no clear optimal treatment strategy. We are uncertain whether these patients should receive Azacitidine combined with Venetoclax, Azacitidine combined with FLT3 inhibitors, or a combination of all three. Therefore, based on the current lack of sufficient clinical data, our recommendation is to initially treat these patients with Azacitidine and Venetoclax, and consider adding FLT3 inhibitors when the patients relapse.
王华锋教授
本次大会上有一项壁报研究显示,艾伏尼布联合阿扎胞苷在高龄患者(例如65岁以上)中未能显示出生存期的优势。您如何看待这一结果?
Mikkael Sekeres教授
该治疗可能更适用于较年轻的老年患者。对于80岁及以上的高龄患者,治疗强度可能过高,而他们的骨髓恢复能力较弱,无法像较年轻的老年患者那样有效恢复造血功能。
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Professor Huafeng Wang:A poster presentation at this conference showed that the combination of Ivosidenib and Azacitidine did not demonstrate a survival advantage in elderly patients (for example, those over 65). What is your view on this result?
Professor Mikkael Sekeres:This treatment may be more suitable for younger elderly patients. For those over 80 years old, the treatment intensity may be too high, and their bone marrow recovery capacity is weaker, making it difficult for them to restore hematopoietic function as effectively as younger elderly patients.
三药诱导治疗方案的可行性探索
及药物排序临床决策思考
王华锋教授
最后一个问题,您如何看待三药诱导治疗方案,例如维奈克拉、IDH1/FLT3-ITD抑制剂联合阿扎胞苷或地西他滨?以及您认为是否应先使用两药联合治疗,在疾病进展后再引入第三种药物?在此过程中,优选使用哪种药物?是先使用BCL2抑制剂,还是优先使用其他特异性靶向药物?
Mikkael Sekeres教授
我们曾就这一问题进行讨论。例如针对IDH1突变的治疗选择,我们讨论了阿扎胞苷联合艾伏尼布与阿扎胞苷联合维奈克拉两种方案。根据现有数据,尚未明确哪种方案疗效更优。因此,专家组认为在此领域无法做出具体推荐,建议由临床医生自行决定。两种治疗方案均为可行选择,且均具备一定的临床应用价值。
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Professor Huafeng Wang:One last question. What is your opinion on the three-drug induction therapy regimen, such as the combination of Venetoclax, IDH1/FLT3-ITD inhibitors with Azacitidine or Decitabine? Do you think it is preferable to start with a two-drug combination and introduce the third drug upon disease progression? In this process, which drug would you prioritize? Should BCL2 inhibitors be used first, or should other specific targeted drugs take priority?
Professor Mikkael Sekeres:We have discussed this issue in our panel. For example, when considering treatment options for IDH1 mutations, we debated between Azacitidine combined with Ivosidenib and Azacitidine combined with Venetoclax. Based on the available data, it is not clear which regimen is more effective. Therefore, the expert panel concluded that we cannot make a specific recommendation in this area and suggested that the decision be left to the clinician. Both treatment options are viable and have clinical utility.
会场花絮
专家简介
王华锋 教授
浙江大学医学院附属第一医院
副教授、副主任医师、博士生导师、特聘研究员
浙江大学医学院附属第一医院 血液科
浙江大学医学院附属第一医院血液科 主任助理
中国临床肿瘤学会(CSCO)白血病专家委员会常务委员
第十二届中华医学会血液学分会白血病学组委员
中国女医师协会靶向专业委员会委员
中国抗癌协会血液病转化委员会青年委员
浙江省医师协会血液学分会秘书
浙江省领军型创新创业团队成员
浙江省551人才计划医坛新秀
美国City of Hope国家医学中心博士后
美国布朗大学以及英国Royal Free Hospital访问学者
Mikkael Sekeres
医学博士,理学硕士
Mikkael Sekeres是迈阿密大学米勒医学院西尔维斯特综合癌症中心血液科主任,并担任终身教授。他毕业于宾夕法尼亚大学医学院,获得医学博士学位和临床流行病学硕士学位。Sekeres博士在哈佛大学完成研究生培训,在麻省总医院完成内科住院医师培训,并在波士顿Dana-Farber癌症研究所完成血液肿瘤专科医师培训。他是再生障碍性贫血和骨髓增生异常综合症(MDS)国际基金会医学顾问委员会主席,美国血液学会(ASH)老年急性髓性白血病(AML)治疗指南主席,美国临床肿瘤学会(ASCO)会员,曾任美国食品药品监督管理局(FDA)肿瘤药物咨询委员会主席。
Sekeres博士的研究重点是MDS和老年AML患者。他曾担任数十项I/II/III期临床试验的国内和国际主要研究者。他撰写或合著了 500 多篇同行评审论文和 650 篇摘要,H 指数为 100。他是 ASH Clinical News 杂志的创刊主编;他是多个期刊的编委,也是《临床肿瘤学杂志》的副主编和 UpToDate 的版块编辑;他为《纽约时报》、《华尔街日报》、《华盛顿邮报》、《赫芬顿邮报》、《Slate》和《The Hill》等媒体撰写了 100 多篇文章;他著有 8 本书,包括《When Blood Breaks Down: Life Lessons from Leukemia》(麻省理工学院出版社,2020 年)和《Drugs and the FDA: Safety, Efficacy, and the Public’s Trust》(麻省理工学院出版社,2022 年)。以及一本名为《Chasing Truth in Cancer》的书(多伦多大学出版社,预计2026 年出版)。
(来源:《肿瘤瞭望–血液时讯》编辑部)
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