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CURE’s acute myeloid leukemia page features the latest cancer news and updates on acute myeloid leukemia. Through articles, videos, podcasts, and more, CURE brings readers the insights of experts, cancer survivors, patients, and advocates to ensure everyone is up to date in acute myeloid leukemia.

How do you explain to your 3-year-old why you’ve lost your hair, why you have to go away to the hospital for a long period of time and most importantly, that you are sick with cancer?

Amanda Ferraro, an acute myeloid leukemia survivor who writes blog posts for the 

, explains how she navigated parenthood during cancer in this episode of the “Cancer Horizons” podcast. She also discusses the importance of mental health and shares advice for other patients and survivors.

“We actually put him into play therapy, probably as soon as I got home, which helped a lot with him kind of going through this, ‘what's happening?’” Ferraro said. “I just simply told him I was sick, and you know Mommy doesn't have hair now because of the medicine that I had to get. But we would count hairs when they came in.”

For more news on cancer updates, research and education, don’t forget to 

On this episode of the “Cancer Horizons” podcast, CURE® contributor Amanda Ferraro describes what it was like to receive a cancer diagnosis at 28 years old with a 3-year-old child and discusses the importance of mental health for cancer survivors.

‘Mommy Doesn’t Have Hair Right Now’: Receiving a Cancer Diagnosis as a Young Mother

At just 14 years old, cheerleader Nicole Schulz was convinced she had the flu. But when a blood test found that she actually had acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, her world turned upside down. Rigorous treatments that included chemotherapy, blood and platelet transfusions, and two bone marrow transplants left their mark, leading Schulz to believe she could never have children.

But today, 11 years later – she’s now the proud mother of a healthy baby boy after giving birth in November. In this episode of the “

” podcast, we’re talking with Schulz about what it was like to live through AML, how much has changed in her life as a result of dealing with the disease at such a young age, and why she now lives life to the fullest – and hopes others will too.

“I would say, and it sounds kind of cheesy, but never give up and never stop fighting,” Schulz said. “Because (with cancer), your attitude and your mindset is so important.”

This week on the “CURE Talks Cancer” podcast, we spoke with Nicole Schulz, who was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia at the age of 14, about how her life changed as a result of her treatment and why she now lives life to the fullest. 

‘Attitude is Everything’ When Dealing with Cancer

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a blood cancer that starts in the bone marrow, accounts for almost 20,000 new cases of cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.

It is one of the most common types of leukemias in adults; however, the disease comprises only about 1% of all cancers.

There are a variety of treatment options available for patients with AML, with more clinical trials evaluating new therapies in the pipeline. In this episode of the “

 talks Cancer” podcast, we spoke with Dr. Dan Pollyea, from the University of Colorado School of Medicine, about these treatment options.

In this episode of the “CURE Talks Cancer” podcast, Dr. Dan Pollyea discusses the basics of AML, as well as treatment options currently available for patients. 

Understanding Treatment Options for Acute Myeloid Leukemia

During this holiday season, I wanted to take a moment and reflect on how my dog Payton stayed by my side during acute myeloid leukemia.   

My Dog and Thoughts of Gratitude After Cancer 

A Phase 3 trial of uproleselan failed to improve overall survival in relapsed/refractory AML, though it may benefit primary refractory patients.

Uproleselan Fails to Improve Survival in AML, Although Some Subgroups May Benefit

During the holiday season, overwhelming feelings are OK to have, whether you are a patient with cancer or a caregiver.  

It's OK Not to Have Full Holiday Spirit During Cancer 

Researchers have found an overall survival benefit and manageable safety profile with Venclexta for patients with AML and MDS.

Venclexta Regimen Beneficial for Patients with AML and MDS

Adjusted survival outcomes were similar for patients with NPM1-mutated AML with intensive induction chemotherapy or hypomethylating agents and Venclexta.

Chemo vs HMAs and Venclexta Show Similar Survival Outcomes in AML

While posttransplant Xospata did not worsen QOL in patients with AML, it is essential that patients tell their providers about side effects , an expert said. 

Posttransplant Xospata Does Not Worsen Quality of Life in AML 

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) regarding quality of life are becoming increasingly important in the post-transplant maintenance setting for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), explained Dr. Betty Hamilton, an associate professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic.

“It's always essential for patients to be able to tell their provider what's bothering them,” Hamilton said in a recent interview at the Transplantation & Cellular Therapy Meetings of ASTCT and CIBMTR.

Hamilton discussed findings from the phase 3 Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network study 1506, which evaluated relapse-free survival (time patients live without experiencing disease relapse) and health-related quality of life in patients with FLT3-ITD-positive AML who underwent an allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant. Two groups were compared in the trial: those who received a post-transplant placebo, and those who received maintenance Xospata (gilteritinib).

Pre- or Post-Transplant Xospata Shows Relapse-Free Survival Benefit in AML Group

Findings showed that those who received Xospata — which was 

approved for AML treatment in November 2018

 — tended to have better relapse-free survival and no statistically significant difference in health-related quality of life.

Hamilton emphasized, however, the importance of patients reporting any side effects or quality-of-life issues that they encounter. In the study, Hamilton and her colleagues used three different surveys — the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Bone Marrow Transplant (FACT-BMT), FACT-Leukemia and EQ-5D-5L — to assess physical, social, emotional and functional domains regarding health-related quality of life. These measures, according to Hamilton, can ensure that patients and clinicians communicate openly about side effects.

It's always essential for patients to be able to tell their provider what's bothering them. I think what's so important about patient-reported outcomes is that it comes directly from the patient. It's not interpreted by the physician, even when patients do tell sometimes tell their provider, sometimes [they] sort of interpreted differently.

So I think that using PROs and assessing quality of life is critical. Also, these assessments help patients remember to bring up concerns as well.


While posttransplant Xospata did not worsen quality of life in patients with acute myeloid leukemia, it is essential that patients tell their providers about any side effects that they experience, an expert said. 

After being diagnosed with cancer, patients should refrain from immediately consulting “Dr. Google,” according to a nurse specialist.

“Often patients, as soon as they’re diagnosed, they run to Google or they’re talking to family and friends,” Stephanie Jackson, a clinical nurse specialist at UCLA Health in Los Angeles, said in an interview with CURE®’s sister publication, Oncology Nursing News®. “Whether they’re at an academic medical center or even a community setting (they should) speak with their medical team and see what reputable sources they can look at.

Jackson mentioned that sources like the American Cancer Society and Leukemia & Lymphoma Society can help patients learn about their disease. This kind of education empowers patients to be more involved in their care, which, in turn, has shaped the field of health care in recent decades.

“This is when we see the best outcomes for our patients and families — when they are just as aware of their disease as we are with treating them with the best drugs,” Jackson said.

I would say not (to consult) Dr. Google. Often patients as soon as they are diagnosed, they run to Google, they're talking to their family and friends. Whether they're at an academic medical center, or even a community setting, speak with their medical team and see what a replicable source is that they can look at.

American Cancer Society, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, these are all evidence-based programs that really provide patients with the top research and providers. Even Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has amazing programs for patients and families to attend where them, as well as their loved ones; their support group can go to and hear our own provider speak and educate them about their illness.

I would also say (to patients to) talk to their providers about what are the best sources they can read and find out about their disease, when they're in the inpatient or outpatient setting is probably the best way they can educate themselves and advocate for themselves, because it really is a partnership.

Many years ago, patients were treated, (and) everything their physicians and providers taught them was gold standard, and they accepted it. Now we live in a world where we do have technology and we should really partner with our patients and empower them to make sure they also know their disease, know what are their treatments and side effects because that's when they can also tell us when we're not in the room, or we're sending them home, they can say, “I read about this side effect, let me report this to my provider.”

So it really is now the era of a partnership. And this is when we see the best outcomes for our patients and families, when they also are just as aware of their disease as we are with treating them with the best drugs.

Patients with cancer are encouraged to learn more about their disease from evidenced-based sources and not “Dr. Google.”

Outcomes Are Best When Patients With Cancer Are as Aware of Their Disease as Their Provider, Expert Says

Integrating palliative care during the first series of intensive chemotherapy in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) was associated with an improvement in patients’ coping skills, compared with usual care.

That improvement, according to Dr. Thomas Leblanc, could have a positive effect on a patient’s quality of life, depression and anxiety.

In fact, prior studies have demonstrated the positive impact of integrated palliative care in patients receiving intensive induction chemotherapy.

During the 2021 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, Leblanc, a hematologic oncologist at Duke Cancer Center, presented findings of a study that examined the effect of palliative care on patients’ coping strategies to examine how the approach benefits patients.

“A positive kind of a coping approach would be, for example, positive reframing,” he said in an interview with CURE®. “A negative type of coping would be avoidance and denial. And we know from many years of research in psychology that those kinds of negative coping approaches really are not helpful. They're maladaptive, we would say. So there are ways to actually measure this. And we did that on this trial.”

In this case we did a study in AML, where palliative care has not been integrated before. And that type of a study hadn't been done. Now that we know that there are benefits that we proved in that randomized trial, we were trying here to better understand what might explain the benefits and basically, we said, coping was important in those solid tumor patients. Maybe it's also important in these liquid tumor patients. So that was basically the rationale. And what we looked at specifically with coping is basically the difference between more positive coping styles or coping approaches and more negative sort of maladaptive coping approaches. So a positive kind of a coping approach would be, for example, positive reframing. A negative type of coping would be avoidance and denial. And we know from many years of research in psychology that those kinds of negative coping approaches really are not helpful. They're maladaptive, we would say. So there are ways to actually measure this. And we did that on this trial. We use something called the brief cope questionnaire, it's a patient reported questionnaire. And it allows you to actually categorize the patient's coping styles. And that was a big part of what we looked at in this analysis. And we found that there is significantly more of that positive coping done by the patients who are receiving integrated specialist palliative care and a lot less of that negative coping. And we saw much more of the positive coping as soon as at that two-week time point. And actually, that was sustained to 24 weeks as well.

Introducing integrated palliative care to patients with a certain type of leukemia was shown to facilitate active coping strategies, which could improve a patient’s quality of life.

Palliative Care Improves Coping in Patients with A Certain Type of Leukemia

Patients with blood cancers are at a much higher risk of complications if they contract COVID-19, according to Dr. Gwen Nichols, chief medical officer of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). That’s why it’s important that researchers gather as much information they can about the vaccine’s impact on this population — and why patients should consider getting one as soon as they can.

 to answer questions about how COVID-19 and the COVID-19 vaccines affect patients with blood cancer, given that some individuals may not have an adequate response to vaccination, depending on cancer type and where they are in their treatment.

®, Nichols discussed how the registry aims to gather data and ultimately improve care for patients with blood cancers during the pandemic, and explained why the vaccine is important for these patients.

Patients with blood cancer in particular, and that's the population we studied, are at much higher risk of complications, if they get COVID. The data over this past year has been — every new paper is more concerning.

Of course it depends on your age, on what type of malignancy you have, on whether you're on active treatment versus a survivor, (there are) lots of complicated factors, but the range of increased risk of mortality, not just getting deathly sick and ending up in an ICU, but dying, ranges somewhere, in different reports, from 25 to 55%. So, you know, we're talking about a three-fold risk, maybe, of dying from COVID, if you get it.

And so, obviously we have to know if they are eligible and (if vaccination is) appropriate, you know, their doctors are the ones who have to make that decision. But, you know, the great majority (of patients) should get a vaccine, should be safe getting a vaccine, and are afraid to do so. And that is, it's a big worry, because their risk is so great.

Patients with blood cancers are at a much higher risk of complications if they contract COVID-19, says an expert from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS).

Why the COVID-19 Vaccine is Important for Patients with Blood Cancers

Recent research data presented during the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) conference

Relevance of data for patients currently in treatment

Updates on clinical trials and key approvals on the horizon

KRISTIE KAHL:Hi everyone.Welcome to today’s live broadcast, a CURE Educated Patient Webinar in Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

I’m Kristie Kahl, Editorial Director of CURE Magazine.We are pleased to bring you this webcast presented by CURE and in partnership with Abbvie and Genentech.We have a few important announcements before we begin.We encourage you to ask questions during the event, which you get to admit by typing them in Q and A box.You will be receiving a survey via email tomorrow.As a thank you for watching the full webinar and completing the survey you will be entered to win one of three Visa gift cards.

We are pleased to be joined today by our moderator, Dr. Harry Erba, Director of the Leukemia Program at Duke University, Dr. Naval Daver, Director of Leukemia Research Alliance Program and Associate Professor at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, and Dr. Rami Komrokji, Vice Chair of the Malignant Hematology Department, Section Head Leukemia & MDS, and Professor of Oncologic Sciences at the University of South Florida and Moffitt Cancer Center.Thank you for joining us today and I will now pass it off to our moderator to begin the discussion.

HARRY ERBA, MD, PhD:Thank you and welcome all of you this evening.My name is Harry Erba and I’m joined, as you heard, by Naval Daver from M.D. Anderson and Rami Komrokji from the Moffitt Cancer Institute.We would like to spend at least the next 45 minutes discussing some of the information that we all learned at the 2020 American Society of Hematology meeting.It was supposed to be in San Diego but we did it virtually and actually a lot of us liked it done virtually because we actually got to spend more time and listening to the data and various different areas.It was a very well done meeting, although, it wasn’t sunny Southern California but maybe next year we will be there.My colleagues, Rami and Naval, being down in Houston and Tampa have it sunny all the time, except when those hurricanes come through, I guess.

But let’s get started and I am going to start by turning to Naval and then to Rami to just start our discussion with what was the most exciting information that you learned about AML research at this year’s meeting, Naval?

NAVAL DAVER, MD:Thanks, Harry.I agree.I actually liked the ASH setup this year to listen to things that were not in the presentation because you were at home and not running everywhere so it was actually really nice.For me, there were many things that were exciting but to start off with magrolimab and this is for the p53 in very high-risk cytogenetic patients where we were very hopeful three or four years ago looking at the response rates with aza/ven of 55% or so that this will improve outcomes in all older - - AML and it has been a major, major breakthrough but, unfortunately, the TP53 mutated in high risk cytogenetic patients continue to do poorly, even with aza/ven.And there were two abstracts at this year’s ASH showing although the remission rates are about 50, 55% the median survival is only 5 to 6 months with aza/ven in TP53’s.So this kind of put light on the emerging exciting data with magrolimab, which is a very interesting, unique mode of action.It is a CD47 inhibitor so it is kind of the checkpoint on the surface of macrophages that blocks macrophage from working.Normally, the macrophages are some that should eat up leukemia cells or cancer but the cancer is able to shut them down so this antibody by preventing the cancer from approaching and shutting down macrophages likely leads them to start working again and they start fighting against the leukemia.

So that is the science.It is a very unique drug.The first kind of in class for the CD47 inhibition.The data that was shown in frontline overall was very encouraging with response rate of about 60, 65%, which is a little lower but in the ballpark of what you see with aza/venetoclax, but especially in the high-risk TP53 AML we are seeing 70% CR, CRI, and median survival of almost 13 months, which is much better than what we have seen with aza/ven, where the median survival in three different study sets has been between 5 to 7 months.So again, it is an early study, phase 1, single arm, and we know all the caveats with that, but looks very encouraging.We also saw good molecular and deep remissions so I think this is, hopefully, an important drug to combine in the future for high-risk AML.

DR. ERBA:Thank you, Naval.I had muted myself because I was hearing some feedback so I apologize for that.In any case, I agree with that.I think a lot of people are excited about CD47 as a target and partly because not just active in myeloid malignancies, MDS and AML, potentially, but CD47 provides a don’t eat me signal, as we call it, for all of our normal cells in our body so that the innate immune system, as we call it, those cells that are ready to gobble up on defective cells, viral-infected cells, called macrophage they are blocked from doing that.But by blocking the signal you can overcome that effect, which means that this class of drugs may not only be effective for our patients that we treat with AML or myeloid neoplasm like MDS but we may be seeing a lot more work with these drugs in other cancers, as well, which is wonderful for the entire cancer community.You know, a lot of patients often say to me why can't we find something that is just good for all cancer?I go about explaining the heterogeneity of the disease and the mutations, as you talked about TP53, but activating the immune system, in some way, may be the best way to do that.Now, I am going to come back to you, Naval, because you have been a leader here in doing just that in myeloid neoplasms.

Let me turn to Rami, though.Rami, what did you take away as important research?

RAMI KOMROKJI, MD:So I think it is a very important time and I think what is exciting is really the changing landscape and the several potential drugs to be approved.What is frustrating for me is, like, we need to get those approved quickly so like you know many of those are heading to phase 3 trials but they are not approved as we can use them in practice now.

I think if we stay in the line of the p53 APR246 is another drug that has finished phase 3 so that is hopefully here to read out on in the coming month or so.As Dr. Daver said, the p53 mutant AML historically and the MDS, unfortunately, do very poorly.P53 we can think of it always the way I explain it is it is almost like p53 is like a protein like a brake and when we say p53 it a mutant the brakes are off and things are completely under hectic, uncontrolled proliferation.So one approach promising is the magrolimab that Naval talked about and then the APR-246 is actually a drug that binds to the p53 and restores the function so puts the brakes back.We have been testing this in a phase 1 and phase 2 in combination with hypomethylating agents and we have seen doubling or tripling of the responses, more than 50%, and that now had finished a phase 3 randomization where patients were either getting azacitidine or azacitidine plus APR-246 and I am hopeful that the results of that study would be positive because that will translate to first approval of a drug particularly for that group of patients with the p53.

There are many other exciting drugs in development.Some of them are early on.I was excited a little bit about the class of drugs called the menin inhibitors.Those work for a group of patients that have a chromosome abnormality called 11q23 or MLL gene that typically happens in patients that have acute myeloid leukemia from prior treatment, we call it treatment related, but that can happen, also, without a prior history of treatment.Historically, unfortunately, there is a poor outcome.They respond to treatment but then they relapse.This class of drugs act binding the menins and interfering with their interaction with the MLL.This is very early phase so there are two drugs that can target those menins and we heard about the first few patients that go on the study but it is a very early promising result that those drugs could work so a small subset of patients we saw some activity.A couple of patients achieved complete responses so I think that is going to moving into phase 2 or 3.

The excitement for me, there, again, this is a targeted therapy for an unmet-need population.

Watch our Acute Myeloid Leukemia Webinar where an expert panel discussed topics highly relevant to patients, caregivers and advocates right now. 

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