Can dasatinab improve outcomes for patients with acute myeloid leukemia?

This study looked at combining chemotherapy with dasatinib (Sprycel) to treat patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with a CBF mutation. This study found that dasatinib was a safe and effective treatment for these patients.

AML is a cancer of immature blood cells called myeloid cells. Around 12% of AML cases have mutations involving a protein called CBF. CBF is involved in how healthy myeloid cells become mature red or white blood cells. CBF-AML tends to have better outcomes than other types of AML.

However, 40 to 50% of patients experience relapse (cancer recurrence) after chemotherapy. These patients need other treatment options. Dasatinib is a targeted therapy that interferes with how cancer cells function, causing cancer cell death. It is unclear whether adding dasatinib to chemotherapy can improve outcomes for patients with CBF-AML.

This study included 61 patients with AML that had a CBF mutation. Patients received dasatinib and chemotherapy (cytarabine, daunorubicin). Patients were divided into two groups based on age. 46 patients were younger than age 60 and 15 patients were age 60 or older. Patients were followed for an average of 45 months.

Overall, 90% of patients had no signs of cancer after treatment. Among older patients, this rate was 80%. Among younger patients, this rate was 93%. At follow-up, 16% of patients had cancer recurrence.

Overall, 77% of all patients survived for at least 3 years. Among older patients, this rate was 51% and among younger patients, this rate was 85%.

Overall, 75% of all patients remained disease-free for at least 3 years. Among older patients, this rate was 79% and among younger patients, this rate was 60%.

10 patients had side effects that led to stopping treatment. Side effects to the lungs and liver were reported.

This study found that dasatinib with chemotherapy is a safe and effective treatment for patients with CBF-AML. The authors suggest that this combination is effective for both younger and older patients.

This study did not compare chemotherapy with dasatinib to chemotherapy alone. The study also had a small number of patients. More studies are needed.