Venetoclax boosts HRQoL in AML patients unfit for intensive chemotherapy

Drug combinations including venetoclax (VEN) seem to have a positive impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL), or at least does not worsen it, in patients with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) who are ineligible for intensive chemotherapy, a recent study has found.

The present study drew from Viale-A and Viale-C, two phase 3 randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trials that tested the combination of oral VEN 400 mg with subcutaneous azacitidine (AZA) 75 mg/m² or low-dose cytarabine (LDAC) 20 mg/m², respectively. Patient-reported outcomes (PRO) relevant to the current study included physical functioning, fatigue, and EORTC QLQ-C30 global health status (GHS/QoL).

Patients taking VEN+AZA vs AZA+placebo experienced a significantly longer time to a deterioration in physical function (median, 9.7 vs 6.2 months; p=0.028) and health status as quantified by a visual analogue scale (median, 10.7 vs 3.9; p<0.001).

VEN+AZA also led to a longer time to deterioration in GHS/QoL as opposed to AZA+placebo, though the effect was only of borderline significance (median, 16.5 vs 9.3 months; p=0.066). A similar pattern was reported for fatigue (median, 9.3 vs 8.6 months; p=0.189).

Meanwhile, those in the VEN+LDAC arm had a significantly longer time to the deterioration of GHS/QoL (median, 11.3 vs 2.6 months; p=0.011), physical functioning (median, 5.8 vs 2.9 months; p=0.02), and fatigue (median, 8.1 vs 2.6 months; p=0.004), as opposed to LDAC+placebo.  

“Understanding treatment efficacy from the patient perspective may influence treatment decisions and allow for identification of specific aspects of HRQoL impacted by AML for which strategies may be developed to provide relief,” the researchers said. “Future studies may utilize AML-specific measurements to further quantify the impact of treatment with venetoclax on PROs.”