How are old people treated if chemotherapy is risky?
As mentioned before, traditional chemotherapy may not be the best option for old individuals suffering from AML. Up until 2018, old patients had a bad outcome because of poor regimens and side effects from the effective ones, until the FDA approved ventoclax. This drug was originally designed for lymphoma, but it showed a remarkable effect on acute leukemia since the same protein found in lymphoma was also found in leukemia cells. It is used in combination with other drugs such as decitabine and azacytidine, and the combination has a far better adverse effects profile, although not as effective as the ones used in younger individuals.
Stem cell transplantation is a hot topic in these patients and no clear recommendations approve or disprove its effects. Generally speaking, it benefits old but fit individuals and has different techniques than the one used in younger patients, but with lower success rates.