Phase 1 trial of venetoclax with cladribine, cytarabine, G-CSF, and mitoxantrone for AML and high-grade myeloid neoplasm

Intensifying induction by combining venetoclax with a high-dose cytarabine regimen may improve outcomes for high-risk populations such as adult patients with adverse-risk newly diagnosed or relapsed acute myeloid leukemia. In a phase 1 trial testing the novel combination of venetoclax and CLAG-M (cladribine, high-dose cytarabine, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor [G-CSF], and mitoxantrone), the maximum tolerated dose was venetoclax 400 mg on days 1 through 14, combined with cladribine 5 mg/m2 on days 1 through 5, cytarabine 1.5 g/m2 on days 1 through 5, G-CSF 5 μg/kg on days 0 through 5, and mitoxantrone 16 or 18 mg/m2 on days 1 through 3 (for relapsed/refractory and newly diagnosed adverse-risk patients, respectively). The 28-day mortality rate was 5%. Composite complete remission (CR) rate (CR + CR with incomplete hematologic recovery) was 65%. These findings support further phase 2 study of venetoclax in combination with CLAG-M. This trial was registered at www.ClinicalTrials.gov as #NCT04797767.