For decades, there have been limited changes in the management of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), one of the most devastating blood cancers and the most common form of leukemia in adults. Globally, there are approximately 190,000 people diagnosed with AML each year. Additionally, nearly 11,000 people will die from AML in 2019 in the United States alone.
As the average patient age is 68, AML is primarily a disease of the elderly, who generally have a poor prognosis and are less likely than younger patients to respond to conventional treatments. Treatment typically focuses on achieving remission (meaning the signs and symptoms of AML have decreased or disappeared) with intensive chemotherapy and eventually a bone marrow transplant.
