Tumor Lysis Syndrome in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients Treated With a Venetoclax Based Regimen

Venetoclax with hypomethylating agents (HMA) is the standard of care for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in patients ineligible for intensive chemotherapy and is associated with tumor lysis syndrome (TLS). TLS prophylaxis and the use of Cairo Bishop versus Howard diagnostic criteria are not standardized. Here we report TLS prophylaxis and incidence in a retrospective cohort of 100 consecutive AML patients treated with venetoclax and HMA. Thirty four patients developed laboratory Cairo Bishop TLS; 8 of these met criteria for clinical Cairo Bishop TLS. Only 6 of patients met Howard TLS criteria. Fourteen patients had spontaneous TLS. Ninety two out of 100 patients had a white blood cell count (WBC) < 25 000 cells/μL at treatment start. Prophylaxis like the original venetoclax trial with allopurinol (56%), intravenous fluids (21%), and frequent lab monitoring (56%) was less common. There was a trend toward increased Cairo Bishop TLS in patients with WBC ≥ 15 000 cells/μL. In our study Howard TLS criteria better identified patients with significant TLS. Aggressive TLS prophylaxis was uncommon in our cohort and is likely unnecessary for most patients at low risk of TLS.