In a nutshell
This study aimed to investigate if ponatinib is a suitable second-line treatment option for patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia. This study concluded that ponatinib is a suitable option for these patients.
Some background
Ponatinib (Iclusig) is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). TKIs work by blocking proteins involved in the growth of cancer cells. It is used in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).
There is little information available about the use of ponatinib as a second-line treatment in chronic phase-CML (CP-CML) patients that are resistant/intolerant to prior TKI therapies. A second line treatment is one that is used when the first treatment fails to work for the patient.
It was not known if ponatinib can be used as a second-line treatment for CP-CML patients that were resistant/intolerant to prior TKI therapy.
Methods & findings
This study involved 29 patients with CP-CML. The average patient age was 54 years. 38% of these patients had received dasatinib (Sprycel), 52% had received nilotinib (Tasigna) and 10% had received imatinib (Gleevec) as first-line treatment. 60% of patients were treated with 45 mg ponatinib, 38% were treated with 30 mg and 2% were treated with 15 mg. Patients were followed for an average of 12 months.
85.7% of treated patients improved their level of response to treatment. 34% of patients achieved deep molecular response (DMR). Achieving DMR is a sign of disease remission. No thrombotic (related to blood and clotting) side effects were recorded.
7% of patients needed a dose reduction during treatment due to intolerance. 28% of patients had a dose reduction to reduce the cardiovascular risk.
The bottom line
This study concluded that ponatinib is a valid second-line treatment option for CP-CML patients.
Published By :
Annals of Hematology
Date :
Apr 19, 2018
