Figuring Out How to Treat AML
- The treatment route will depend on chromosome status, as well as genetic and genomic information.
- While some patients fall into the group that will likely be cured with chemotherapy alone, others may need additional treatment — such as a stem-cell transplant.
- Older patients who can not undergo rounds of chemo or a transplant may opt for something called lower-intensity treatment, which is given in an out-patient setting.
“Our goal is always to cure a patient with a disease like AML,” Dr. Raoul Tibes, formerly the Director of the Clinical Leukemia Program at NYU Langone Health tells SurvivorNet. But determining how to get to that cure and if it’s possible, he says, depends on how an individual’s particular case of AML is grouped.
Read MoreSome patients can be cured with chemotherapy alone, Dr. Tibes says, while others may require additional treatment like a stem-cell transplant. These treatment decisions will be based on the genetic and genomic information, and need to be made early on in the treatment process.
Patients who are not candidates for chemotherapy and stem-cell transplants — which happens often because AML patients tend to be older — may opt for something called lower-intensity treatments. In this setting, Dr. Tibes says, people are given treatment on an out-patient system, with the goal of preserving the patient’s quality of life.
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