The prognosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in patients 60 and older is dismal with traditional therapy. Several factors contribute to the poor prognosis of older individuals, including the increased incidence of the multidrug resistance efflux pump, comorbidities and unfavorable cytogenetics. The recently reported AML-13 and ALFA trials suggest that less intense consolidation in this population is at least equivalent to more intense, induction style efforts.