Patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who have maintained complete molecular remission (CMR) for at least 2 years can safely discontinue imatinib therapy, French researchers report.
The findings of the Stop Imatinib study are reported in the October 20 online edition of The Lancet Oncology. In this prospective, multicenter, nonrandomized study byFrancois-Xavier Mahon, MD, of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Bordeaux, France, and his colleagues, imatinib treatment was stopped in patients 18 years or older had been taking the tyrosine kinase inhibitor for at least 3 years and had been in CMR for at least 2 years.
Of 100 patients enrolled, 69 had 12 or more months of follow-up; 42 (61%) of these patients relapsed (40 before 6 months, one at 7 months, and one at 19 months). The probability of persistent CMR at 12 months in these 69 patients was 41%. All of those who relapsed responded to reintroduction of imatinib. Of the 42 patients who relapsed, 16 had reductions in their BCR-ABL levels, and 26 achieved CMR that was sustained after reintroduction of imatinib.
Although only about 10% of patients may be able to totally discontinue imatinib, the researcher say the findings raise the possibility that “at least in some patients, CML might be cured with tyrosine kinase inhibitors.”