OnCo
key papersKey paper

QuANTUM-First: quizartinib added to intensive chemotherapy and continued as maintenance in newly diagnosed FLT3-ITD AML

Adding the FLT3 inhibitor quizartinib to standard chemotherapy, and continuing it for up to three years, roughly doubled median survival in FLT3-ITD acute myeloid leukaemia.

QuANTUM-First randomised 539 adults aged 18-75 with newly diagnosed FLT3-ITD-positive AML to quizartinib or placebo added to standard 7+3 induction and consolidation, continued after allogeneic transplant where performed, and then as maintenance for up to 36 cycles. The primary endpoint was overall survival. Median OS was 31.9 versus 15.1 months (hazard ratio 0.78), with similar remission rates but lower relapse in the quizartinib arm. QT prolongation and cytopenias were more frequent with quizartinib. It followed RATIFY (midostaurin) as the second phase 3 trial to show a survival benefit from a FLT3 inhibitor in front-line therapy, and the first with a selective type II inhibitor.

Randomised controlled trialChanged practice539 participants
Authors
Erba HP, Montesinos P, Kim HJ, et al.
Published
What it found
  • 539 patients aged 18-75 with FLT3-ITD AML; quizartinib vs placebo with 7+3, consolidation and up to 3 years of maintenance.
  • Median OS 31.9 vs 15.1 months; hazard ratio 0.78.
  • Complete remission rates were similar (around 55%), so benefit came from deeper remissions and fewer relapses.
  • Benefit maintained in patients who proceeded to allogeneic transplant with post-transplant quizartinib.
  • More grade 3 QT prolongation, neutropenia and infections with quizartinib.
What it means

QuANTUM-First gave FLT3-ITD AML patients a second front-line targeted option and showed that continuing a FLT3 inhibitor as long-term maintenance, including after transplant, pays off. Quizartinib was approved for this indication in 2023. Head-to-head data against midostaurin are lacking, and the design leaves open how much of the benefit came from maintenance.

Be careful
  • Applies only to FLT3-ITD, not FLT3-TKD mutations.
  • Contribution of maintenance versus induction-phase quizartinib cannot be separated.
  • Placebo, rather than midostaurin, was the comparator.
  • Cardiac monitoring for QT prolongation is required; older patients gained less.

Key papers

1top

Connected

14top

Pages like this

not linked directly; found by shared links