A systematic review shows that using gilteritinib as maintenance therapy after stem cell transplant (HSCT) can significantly improve survival for patients with high-risk, relapsed or refractory FLT3-mutated acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
Across eight studies with 134 patients, one-year overall survival ranged from 72% to 100%, and two-year survival remained strong at 56% to 60%. Gilteritinib works by selectively blocking the FLT3 pathway, allowing healthy blood cells to recover even if residual leukemia remains.
Safety monitoring focused on graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), which occurred in a minority of patients. Acute GVHD affected 8%–14%, chronic GVHD 17%–29%, and severe cases were rare.
These findings suggest that gilteritinib maintenance offers a proactive, targeted strategy to prevent relapse in a challenging patient population, though further studies are needed to clarify long-term safety and potential drug interactions.