BCOP Updates 2024: Updates in Acute Leukemia Treatment for Elderly Patients

This session will focus on treating and optimizing drug therapy in elderly patients with acute leukemia. Treatment of elderly patients with acute leukemia poses a significant clinical challenge as their co-morbidities and/or decreased performance status places them at a higher risk of morbidity and mortality with standard intensive chemotherapies. Furthermore, disease features portending a poor prognosis are more frequent among elderly patients. Empiric dose reductions of intensive therapies decreases effectiveness thereby negatively impacting outcomes. Designing effective low-intensity therapies incorporating novel agents and utilizing evidence-based data is imperative in improving outcomes and mitigating toxicities when treating elderly patients with acute leukemia. The goal of this 1.5 hour session is to discuss the shift in treatment paradigm for elderly patients with acute leukemia with the incorporation of novel agents and low-intensity therapy. The session will discuss evidence based data of low-intensity therapies adapted for elderly patients in both acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia and provide strategies for optimal management of adverse events. Goals of therapy and cost of care for this population will also be discussed. This session will provide fundamentals in designing therapies for elderly patients with acute leukemia while highlighting some of the challenges we face in taking care of this population in acute leukemia. Real-world cases with utilization of evidence-based data and ADE management/mitigation strategies will be presented to facilitate application of the subject.