Oral administration of the leukemia drug decitabine has shown comparable effectiveness to the intravenous route in a recent study reported in Lancet Hematology. The research focused on decitabine-sedazuridine, a combination designed to be taken by mouth, and its use in treating certain blood cancers. In the United States, this oral medicine gained approval in 2020 for chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, a form of blood cancer. Before this study, doctors were not fully sure whether taking the drug by mouth would match the outcomes of the intravenous form.
The study enrolled 138 adults aged 18 and older. Participants received decitabine-sedazuridine orally for five days in each cycle or received decitabine intravenously for a one-hour infusion at intervals spanning several weeks. Across the two groups, there were no meaningful differences in how the drug levels appeared in the blood or in overall patient survival.
Decitabine works by reactivating genes that normally help keep cell growth in check. When these genes regain their activity, cancer cells may be prompted to die off, slowing or halting tumor development. The study’s findings hint that patients could experience meaningful benefits outside the hospital setting, with the potential for hours or even days of life gained due to a more convenient oral treatment option.
Earlier work in related cancers has explored oral formulations and alternative dosing strategies to improve quality of life for patients while maintaining effectiveness. The current results add to a growing body of evidence that oral decitabine-sedazuridine can be a viable substitute for IV therapy in appropriate cases, providing an outpatient path that preserves clinical outcomes.
Notes: The study’s conclusions are based on direct comparisons of blood drug concentrations and survival outcomes between the oral and intravenous cohorts. Researchers emphasize that individual patient factors, such as disease subtype, comorbidities, and treatment history, should guide therapy decisions. Further investigations may refine dosing schedules and identify which patients stand to benefit most from the oral formulation. Marked citations accompany this summary to acknowledge the original research findings and formal publication details.