As treatments for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) continue to improve, more people are living longer after their diagnosis. Research is ongoing to understand how AML and AML treatment affect survivors. One common risk is a secondary cancer.
New research presented at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting found that adults who survive AML have a higher risk of developing certain second primary cancers, particularly blood cancers. The findings may help healthcare teams better tailor cancer screening and long-term follow-up care for AML survivors.
What is a second primary cancer?
A second primary cancer is a new cancer that develops after a person’s original cancer. It is different from a relapse or recurrence of AML.
Many of the standard treatments for cancer have severe effects on the body and can lead to the development of chronic conditions.
Researchers are working to better understand which survivors may be at greater risk for developing another cancer later in life.
About the study
Researchers used data from the National Cancer Institute’s SEER 17 cancer registry. The study included adults diagnosed with AML between 2000 and 2022 who survived at least two months after their diagnosis.
Researchers compared the number of cancers that occurred among AML survivors with the number expected in the general population.
They also looked at whether risk changed based on:
Time since AML diagnosis
Age
Sex
Type of second cancer
What did researchers find?
Overall, AML survivors developed more second primary cancers than expected.
Researchers identified 751 second cancers compared with about 564 expected in the general population.
Compared with the general population, AML survivors were more likely to develop one of the following types of blood cancer:
Leukemia overall
Lymphomas
Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)
Acute myeloid leukemia
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)
Researchers did not find an overall increase in solid tumors. However, the following cancers occurred more often than others:
Oral cavity and pharynx
Kidney
Eye and orbit
Non-melanoma skin cancers
Second cancer risk changed over time for AML survivors
The study also found that cancer risk was not the same throughout survivorship.
The overall risk of developing a second cancer remained high regardless of how much time had passed since diagnosis. However, the risk of solid tumors became more noticeable five years after the original diagnosis.
What these findings show
These results show that survivorship care after AML should extend beyond monitoring for relapse. Survivors may also benefit from personalized screening strategies based on their individual risk factors and the amount of time since treatment.
This study does not mean every AML survivor will develop another cancer. It provides important information that can help patients and healthcare providers make informed decisions about long-term follow-up care.
Additional research can help determine who is most likely to benefit from enhanced screening and whether treatment history or other factors influence these risks.
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Sources:
ASCO - second primary malignancies after adult acute myeloid leukemia
HealthTree - Navigating Health Risks For Adults Who Had Childhood Cancer
