A Study of Posaconazole Versus Micafungin to Protect Against Invasive Fungal Infections in Patients Undergoing Chemotherapy for Acute Myelogenous Leukemia or Myelodysplastic Syndrome

When people receive chemotherapy, they are more likely to get infections, including fungal infections, due to low white blood cell counts. Posaconazole has been approved to prevent fungal infections in patients who receive induction chemotherapy for acute leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome. It is a liquid medicine that is taken by mouth, with food. But some people who receive chemotherapy develop an irritation of the mouth called mucositis, and are unable to taken posaconazole because they cannot tolerate food or oral medicines.

Micafungin is an antifungal medication that is given intravenously. It is approved for treating certain fungal infections and for preventing fungal infections in patients who receive a bone marrow transplant. In this study, researchers want to compare micafungin and posaconazole for the prevention of fungal infections in leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome patients undergoing chemotherapy. Patients will be randomly assigned to receive one drug or the other.