Acute Myeloid Leukemia striking more Indians in their 30s and 40s

Time of India

28-05-2025

New Delhi: Delhi, which records nearly 3,000 AML cases annually, is witnessing a troubling trend: a rise in diagnoses among individuals in their 30s and 40s.
Yet, only 30 per cent of diagnosed patients receive definitive treatment, primarily due to prohibitive costs and inadequate insurance coverage.
Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), an aggressive and fast-progressing blood cancer, is emerging as a silent but deadly public health emergency in the capital.
Experts highlighted significant gaps in timely diagnosis and treatment during the awareness session. Characterized by rapid progression and vague early symptoms—often mistaken for fatigue or infection—AML can become life-threatening within weeks if left untreated.
Despite global advances in diagnostics and targeted therapies, India continues to lag behind due to low awareness, diagnostic delays, and the high cost of treatment.
'We lose critical time because AML is detected late in our country. It often masquerades as fatigue or infection. By the time the right tests are done, the disease has progressed, and treatment options are limited,' said Dr. Ranjit Sahoo, Additional Professor, Medical Oncology, AIIMS.
'AML can be picked up through a simple blood test, but treatment is available only at tertiary care centers, and the associated costs remain high.'
While conventional chemotherapy remains the standard treatment for AML, it is often poorly tolerated, especially among older patients.
Promising new targeted therapies, which act on specific genetic mutations driving AML, are transforming the global treatment landscape with better remission rates and fewer side effects.
'Public hospitals in Delhi lack standardized diagnostic workflows for AML,' noted Dr. Dharma Chaudhary, Vice Chairman – Haemato-Oncology & BMT, BLK Super Speciality Hospital.
'Even though Delhi has some of the best hospitals, we don't have a cohesive care model for AML. A patient's outcome depends largely on which hospital they go to, whether they have insurance, and how early they are referred to a tertiary center.'
These advancements remain largely out of reach for most Indian patients. Access to molecular diagnostics and targeted therapies is limited to private, urban hospitals, and the high cost of these treatments puts them beyond the reach of the majority.
Crucially, these therapies are not yet covered under India's public insurance schemes or listed in the National Cancer Drug Registry.
To address these systemic challenges, experts emphasised the need to recognize AML as a national public health priority, improve diagnostic access in public and tertiary hospitals, include AML drugs in the National Cancer Drug Registry, and reform insurance coverage to reduce the financial burden on patients.
'Strategic interventions now can save lives,' said one panelist. 'AML may be rare, but its impact is devastating. Early detection, insurance reforms, and access to innovation must go hand in hand if we are to reverse the tide,' urged the experts.