In a nutshell
This study looked at the safety and effectiveness of dasatinib (Sprycel) to treat children with chronic myeloid leukemia in the chronic phase. The authors concluded that dasatinib is a safe and effective treatment.
Some background
There are few treatments for children (less than 18 years old) with chronic myeloid leukemia in the chronic phase (CML-CP). Current treatments for children are tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), which block proteins associated with CML-CP. One first generation TKI is imatinib (Gleevac), which has significant side effects. Dasatinib is a new generation of TKI. It was recently approved to treat children with CML-CP. In early studies, it was shown to be safe. More research is needed to determine how effective dasatinib is at treating children with CML-CP.
Methods & findings
113 patients were recruited for this study. 84 patients were newly diagnosed with CML-CP, and had not yet been treated. 29 patients were unsuccessfully treated with imatinib and were considered imatinib-resistant. All 113 were treated with dasatinib.
The 4-year progression free survival rate (time from treatment to disease progression) was 78% for imatinib-resistant patients. The 4-year progression free survival was 93% for newly diagnosed patients.
The average time from treatment to a major cytogenic response (a strong cellular response to treatment) was 3.1 months for imatinib-resistant pateins and 3 months for newly diagnosed patients.
The most common side effects were nausea/vomiting, rash, and diarrhea. All of these were experienced by less than 20% of patients, and none were grade 3 or 4.
The bottom line
The study concluded that dasatinib is a safe and effective treatment for children with chronic myeloid leukemia in the chronic phase, especially newly diagnosed patients.
Published By :
Journal of clinical oncology
Date :
Mar 02, 2018
