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Below, week by week, is what OnCo's record of Acute myeloid leukaemia in older or unfit patients says about the first two months: the order is typical, the timing is yours to ask about. Most people with acute myeloid leukaemia are over 65, and many cannot take intensive chemotherapy. Venetoclax with azacitidine, two gentler drugs, doubled remission rates and lengthened life in this group, replacing the old choice between supportive care and low-dose chemotherapy. Sections appear only where the record has something to say. Orientation, not medical advice.
Staging tests establish exactly what and where the cancer is. Everything else follows from the answers.
Venetoclax plus azacitidine (VIALE-A) or venetoclax plus decitabine; ivosidenib plus azacitidine for IDH1-mutated disease; targeted triplets in trials.
Ask which of these were tested and what the results were; see the report reader for what each value means.
These specialties appear in the standard of care for this cancer. In most centres they meet weekly as a tumour board to agree each plan; you can ask when yours was discussed and what was decided.
A second opinion from a centre that treats many similar cases is normal, not rude; the standard of care tells you what to compare it against.
Each row is a setting from the standard of care, in the order it usually arises. Not all will apply to you; your stage and biomarkers decide which do. The guideline grade, where recorded, says how strong the evidence is.
7+3 or CPX-351 for secondary disease, with a FLT3 inhibitor where indicated, and reduced-intensity allogeneic transplant in remission.
Hydroxyurea for count control, transfusion support and palliative care; low-dose cytarabine or glasdegib combinations where tolerated.
Genotype-directed drugs (gilteritinib, IDH inhibitors, menin inhibitors) or trials; transplant for the few who respond.
Generated from this cancer's standard of care, biomarkers and open problems. Take the group that matches where you are. To tick, add your own and print, open the one-page appointment sheet.
Trials open now for this cancer in OnCo, largest phase first. Joining a trial is a decision like any other: ask what the comparison arm is, whether a placebo is used, and what happens if you leave. The cancer page searches ClinicalTrials.gov live for more.
Much of what helps in the first weeks is free if you know to ask: testing, helplines, rides and lodging, second opinions, trial travel.
Every term links to the glossary.