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‹ Sat · 9 May 2026
Promising but preliminary

MRD conversion during oral azacitidine maintenance correlates with outcomes in predominantly favorable-risk AML

Oral cancer drug may maintain remission in patients whose disease becomes undetectable, with monitoring guiding treatment decisions in this patient group.

In this multicenter real-world retrospective study (n=30) of favorable-risk AML patients on oral azacitidine maintenance, MRD conversion to negativity during therapy was associated with RFS comparable to patients already MRD-negative at initiation, while persistent MRD predicted early relapse. The findings are hypothesis-generating given the small sample size but support prospective MRD-guided maintenance strategies.

What the study was

Study design
Multicenter real-world retrospective study; Israel Acute Leukemia Group
Population
AML patients in first complete remission on oral azacitidine maintenance; predominantly ELN favorable-risk; Israel multicenter
Sample size
30
Category
Treatment Innovation
Maturity
Exploratory
Journal
Annals of Hematology

Why it surfaced

Real-world data on oral azacitidine MRD dynamics in AML; clinically actionable if confirmed. Design is retrospective, n=30 is small; authors explicitly note hypothesis-generating.

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