[Acute myeloid leukaemia in adults: therapeutic possibilities today and new agents in the future].

Advances in the treatment of acute myeloid leukaemia are still modest. Through emerging knowledge in molecular genetics we gain new insights into the pathogenesis of the disease. The first targeted therapies have emerged, but failed to show a breakthrough effect. The outcome of standard chemotherapy has improved due to improvements in supportive care and slight modifications in the protocols, but we still hope to augment the results of intensive chemotherapy applied in our young and fit patients, by adding targeted therapeutic agents. Possibilities of old and frail patients were even less: they could only receive cytotoxic agents with low efficacy but severe side effects. This group of patients can already benefit from new therapies, like hypomethylating agents. The review summarizes current approved therapies and gives insight into ongoing development of new agents, which will hopefully enrich our therapeutic possibilities in the near future.