Azacitidine + Venetoclax Tied to Improved Event-Free Survival in Adults With AML

THURSDAY, Sept. 3, 2026 (HealthDay News) — For adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) eligible for induction chemotherapy, azacitidine plus venetoclax is associated with longer event-free survival than induction chemotherapy, according to a study published in the Sept. 3 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Amir T. Fathi, M.D., from the Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues randomly assigned previously untreated adults with AML (median age, 64 years) who were eligible for induction chemotherapy to receive azacitidine plus venetoclax or induction chemotherapy (86 patients to each group) in a phase 2 multicenter trial. Event-free survival was assessed as the primary end point.

Seventy-two percent of the patients had adverse-risk disease according to the European LeukemiaNet 2022 classification. The researchers found that median event-free survival was 14.5 and 6.2 months in the azacitidine-venetoclax and induction chemotherapy groups, respectively, at a median follow-up of 21.9 months, corresponding to a hazard ratio of 0.57 for event or death. Infection of grade 3 or higher occurred in 28 and 41 percent of patients receiving azacitidine-venetoclax and induction chemotherapy, respectively, while hemorrhage of grade 3 or higher occurred in 2 and 12 percent, respectively.

“For decades, intensive chemotherapy has been the standard upfront treatment for patients considered able to tolerate it,” Fathi said in a statement. “Our findings suggest that some of these patients may do better with a less-intensive approach.”

Several authors disclosed ties to biopharmaceutical companies, including AbbVie and Genentech, which funded the study.

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