Adnkronos Rome, November 17 (Adnkronos Salute) – "Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a disease that, genetically, breaks down into subtypes of different diseases characterized by the presence of acquired mutations. There are numerous possible mutations, some more common than others. The Flt3-Itd mutation is present in approximately 25-30% of AML cases and leads to proliferative forms of the disease, therefore it is generally accompanied by an elevated white blood cell count."
Roberto Cairoli, director of the Hematology Department at the Asst Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Niguarda Ca' Granda in Milan, stated this during a media briefing held in Milan to mark the recent approval by AIFA for the reimbursement of a new treatment option for newly diagnosed Flt3-Itd-positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
This is quizartinib, the first drug launched in Italy by Daiichi Sankyo in hematology which, as demonstrated by the results of the QuANTUM-First study, published in The Lancet, significantly improved overall survival when added to standard high-dose chemotherapy, with or without allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for consolidation, followed by maintenance monotherapy for up to approximately 3 years.
“Flt3-Itd positive patients show a good tendency to go into complete remission, but a marked tendency to relapse and – he specifies – when a relapse occurs after the first cycle of chemotherapy, the prognosis is particularly poor”.
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a malignant disease of the hematopoietic bone marrow that, if untreated, leads to death. This hemato-oncological disease has its peak incidence in the population aged 68 and is the most frequent form of leukemia in adults. In 2017, 20 new diagnoses and 18 deaths were recorded in Europe – explains Cairoli – The hematopoietic bone marrow is the factory where all blood cells, red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets are produced. When the bone marrow no longer functions, because it is altered by the presence of leukemic cells, the number of red blood cells decreases and brings with it the symptom of anemia. The main signs of anemia are a great sense of fatigue, intense fatigue after light exertion, paleness of the skin and mucous membranes and compensatory mechanisms such as increased respiratory rate and dyspnea. The decrease in the number of white blood cells, on the other hand, leads to a greater susceptibility to infections or Infections that occur but don't heal. The final sign is the one resulting from a lack of platelets, namely a tendency to bleed, which can manifest itself as gums that bleed when brushing teeth, nosebleeds, blemishes on the skin in the absence of previous trauma, such as bruises, flat spots, or hematomas, raised spots, or menstrual bleeding that never stops.
This series of symptoms is detected by the doctor, who orders tests for the patient, including a complete blood count. The results of this test are always severely altered in the presence of acute myeloid leukemia,” she adds. “There are alterations in the white blood cell count, red blood cell count, and hemoglobin, as well as the platelet count. The patient is then referred to a specialist, who usually detects the presence of leukemic cells by examining the blood, and by examining the bone marrow, finds a morphological picture that is morphologically distant from normal. Along with the bone marrow examination, cytogenetic and molecular genetic tests are also performed, which serve to better characterize the form of leukemia, which in this case is acute myeloid leukemia.”