Azacitidine: a review of its use in higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes/acute myeloid leukaemia.

Azacitidine (Vidaza) is a pyrimidine nucleoside analogue of cytidine. Subcutaneous azacitidine was recently approved in the EU for the treatment of adults who are not eligible for haematopoietic stem cell transplantation and who have intermediate-2-risk or high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) [according to International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) criteria], chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML) with 10-29% marrow blasts without myeloproliferative disorder, or acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) with 20-30% blasts and multilineage dysplasia (according to the WHO classification). Subcutaneous azacitidine is the only drug shown to significantly prolong survival in patients with higher-risk MDS or WHO-defined AML, compared with conventional care (i.e. best supportive care, low-dose cytarabine or intensive chemotherapy). In addition, azacitidine is associated with a lower risk of AML progression and higher rates of complete remission, partial remission, haematological improvement and red blood cell (RBC) transfusion independence. Azacitidine has an acceptable tolerability profile; peripheral cytopenias are the most commonly occurring adverse event. Thus, azacitidine is a valuable option for the first-line treatment of patients with higher-risk MDS/AML.