Treatment Options for Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia

A link to a list of current clinical trials is included for each treatment section. For some types or stages of cancer, there may not be any trials listed. Check with your doctor for clinical trials that are not listed here but may be right for you.

Untreated Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Standard treatment of untreated adult acute myeloid leukemia (AML) during the remission induction phase depends on the subtype of AML and may include the following:

• Combination chemotherapy.
• High-dose combination chemotherapy.
• Low-dosechemotherapy.
• Intrathecal chemotherapy.
• All-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) plus chemotherapy for the treatment of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL).
• A clinical trial of arsenic trioxide and ATRA and combination chemotherapy for the treatment of APL.
• A clinical trial of arsenic trioxide and ATRA and targeted therapy for the treatment of APL.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with untreated adult acute myeloid leukemia. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Remission

Standard treatment of adult AML during the remission phase depends on the subtype of AML and may include the following:

• Combination chemotherapy.
• High-dose chemotherapy, with or without radiation therapy, and stem cell transplant using the patient's stem cells.
• High-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant using donor stem cells.

One of the treatments being studied in clinical trials for adult AML in remission is arsenic trioxide.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with adult acute myeloid leukemia in remission. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.

Recurrent Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia

There is no standard treatment for recurrent adult AML. Treatment depends on the subtype of AML and may include the following:

• Combination chemotherapy.
• Targeted therapy with monoclonal antibodies.
• Stem cell transplant.
• Arsenic trioxidetherapy.

Check for U.S. clinical trials from NCI's list of cancer clinical trials that are now accepting patients with recurrent adult acute myeloid leukemia. For more specific results, refine the search by using other search features, such as the location of the trial, the type of treatment, or the name of the drug. General information about clinical trials is available from the NCI Web site.