medwireNews@ASH 2016

EURO-SKI study findings add to the understanding on the best management of chronic myeloid leukemia patients who may be suitable for a trial of tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy discontinuation.

Halving tyrosine kinase inhibitor dosage may be feasible in chronic myeloid leukemia patients who are not eligible for trial of discontinuation, suggest results presented at the 2016 Annual Meeting & Exposition of the American Society of Hematology, held in San Diego, California, USA.

Early results for ABL001, a potent inhibitor that binds to the myristoyl site on the BCR–ABL1 kinase, suggest that the drug may be efficacious for chronic myeloid leukemia in patients with tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance.

Studies of Polish and Indian patients with chronic myeloid leukemia suggest that generic formulations of imatinib may be as effective as the branded drug.

Studies suggest that for chronic myeloid leukemia patients who discontinue tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy, frequency of monitoring may be reduced to every 2 months but that treatment-free remission may not lead to improvements in patient-reported quality of life.