Randomized phase II study of clofarabine-based consolidation for younger adults with acute myeloid leukemia in first remission

Purpose To evaluate the efficacy and safety of a clofarabine-based combination (CLARA) versus conventional high-dose cytarabine (HDAC) as postremission chemotherapy in younger patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Patients and Methods Patients age 18 to 59 years old with intermediate- or unfavorable-risk AML in first remission and no identified donor for allogeneic stem-cell transplantation (SCT) were eligible. Two hundred twentyone patients were randomly assigned to receive three CLARA or three HDAC consolidation cycles. The primary end point was relapse-free survival (RFS). To handle the confounding effect of SCT that could occur in patients with late donor identification, hazard ratios (HRs) of events were adjusted on the time-dependent treatment X SCT interaction term. Results At 2 years, RFS was 58.5% (95% CI, 49% to 67%) in the CLARA arm and 46.5% (95% CI, 37% to 55%) in the HDAC arm. Overall, 110 patients (55 in each arm) received SCT in first remission. On the basis of a multivariable Cox-adjusted treatment X SCT interaction, the HR of CLARA over HDAC before or in absence of SCT was 0.65 (95% CI, 0.43 to 0.98; P = .041). In a sensitivity analysis, when patients who received SCT in first remission were censored at SCT time, 2-year RFS was 53.3% (95% CI, 39% to 66%) in the CLARA arm and 31.0% (95% CI, 19% to 43%) in the HDAC arm (HR, 0.63; 95% CI, 0.41 to 0.98; P = .043). Gain in RFS could be related to the lower cumulative incidence of relapse observed in the CLARA arm versus the HDAC arm (33.9% v 46.4% at 2 years, respectively; cause-specific HR, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.40 to 0.94; P = .025). CLARA cycles were associated with higher hematologic and nonhematologic toxicity than HDAC cycles. Conclusion These results suggest that CLARA might be considered as a new chemotherapy option in younger patients with AML in first remission.