New drugs in acute myeloid leukemia

The standard therapy for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has not changed meaningfully for the past four decades. Improvements in supportive care and modifications to the dose and schedule of existing agents have led to steady improvements in outcomes. However, developing new therapies for AML has been challenging. Although there have been advances in understanding the biology of AML, translating this knowledge to viable treatments has been slow. Active research is currently ongoing to address this important need and several promising drug candidates are currently in the pipeline. Here, we review some of the most advanced and promising compounds that are currently in clinical trials and may have the potential to be part of our future armamentarium. These drug candidates range from cytotoxic chemotherapies, targeted small-molecule inhibitors, and monoclonal antibodies.