Long-term outcomes of patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia who commenced treatment with imatinib: a 20-year single-centre experience

Elżbieta Szczepanekab* , Ositadima Chukwua , Magdalena Kamińskaa, Hubert Wysoglądac, Agnieszka Cendaa, Magdalena Zawadad, Małgorzata Jakóbczykd, Joanna Wącława & Tomasz Sachaa a Department of Hematology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow, Polandb Doctoral School in Medical Sciences and Health Sciences, Jagiellonian University Medical College, Cracow, Polandc Department of Hematology, Oncology and Internal Diseases, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Polandd Department of Hematology Diagnostics, The University Hospital, Cracow, PolandSupplemental data for this article can be accessed here.CONTACT Elzbieta Szczepanek elzbieta.szczepanek94@gmail.com Department of Hematology, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 17 Kopernika Street, Cracow 31-501, PolandAbstractWe report on long-term outcomes of 267 patients (pts) with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) treated with imatinib administered as initial therapy. The median follow-up time was 11.4 years. 38 (14.2%) pts attempted to discontinue imatinib therapy after achieving sustained deep molecular response (≥MR4), 15 of them achieved treatment-free remission (TFR). 144 pts (53.9%) have been switched to other TKI during the follow-up period. The estimated OS for 267 pts for 10, 15 and 18 years was 98.8%, 75.6% and 52.1%. According to prognostic scores (Sokal, Euro, ELTS), OS and PFS were significantly better in low-risk pts than in high-risk pts. According to ELTS, low-risk pts have a better chance of achieving MR4 than both intermediate (p = 0.03) and high-risk (p = 0.04) groups. It suggests that a specific ELTS-adapted treatment could help to optimize treatment results. In the study population, imatinib has demonstrated sustained efficacy and an acceptable rate of late toxic effects.