Journal of Blood Disorders & Transfusion

Acute myeloid leukemia in the elderly

4^th International Conference on Blood Malignancies & Treatment

April 18-19, 2016 Dubai, UAE

Michael Keng

University of Virginia, USA

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Blood Disord Transfus

Abstract:

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most common acute leukemia, a disease primarily seen in the elderly with a median age of 67 years. Since the 1970s, treatment with cytarabine and an anthracycline in a �??7+3�?� manner has remained the foundation of curative intent therapy for AML. However, only one-third of patients defined as �??old�?� receive this definitive AML therapy due to concerns of overall performance status and potential treatment-related mortality. Recent data have shown that older AML patients both can tolerate and survive longer than those untreated. A wide spectrum of treatment options is available for elderly AML patients: Intensive chemotherapy, hypomethylating agents, low-dose cytarabine, investigational agents, and supportive care with hydroxyurea and transfusions. There has been great debate regarding the assessment of fitness for chemotherapy and selection of appropriate treatment regimens. Due to diversity of the geriatric patient population and heterogeneity of AML disease, treatment of elderly AML patients to maximize both quantity and quality of life remain challenging and controversial.

Biography :

Michael Keng received his BS and MD degrees from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan. He completed his Internal Medicine residency at University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, and Hematology and Medical Oncology fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. He then joined the University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Virginia) in 2014. He currently holds a faculty appointment in Medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at University of Virginia. His clinical areas of interest are focused on clinical trials in hematologic malignancies, including myelodysplastic syndromes, leukemia, and other myeloid malignancies and bone marrow failures. He has a special interest in treating the elderly population, determining optimal combinations and timing of targeted agents, and studying patient safety and quality improvement.

Email: michael.k.keng@gmail.com