Timely, personalized TKI therapy without systemic chemotherapy can lead to long-lived responses and minimal residual disease negativity in elderly Ph+ ALL patients.
Does tailored tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy without systemic chemotherapy improve survival and minimal residual disease negativity in elderly patients with Philadelphia-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia?
Elderly and old patients with Ph+ ALL can achieve prolonged survival and treatment-free remission when managed with tailored TKI therapy and steroids without systemic chemotherapy.
Absolute Event Rate: 0% vs 0%
Philadelphia-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL) is today a curable disease. In the real life, too many adult ALL patients are not adequately worked up at diagnosis and treated, and this occurs in particular in elderly/old individuals. We hereby discuss, through representative case descriptions, how Ph+ ALL patients diagnosed in their seventh, eight and nineth decade of life through a timely, accurate and personalized tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) administration, in the absence of systemic chemotherapy, can experience long-lived responses, minimal residual disease negativity, and a good quality of life. To an extent that stopping TKI administration can also be considered. This perspective article represents a proof of concept that nowadays even in elderly/old Ph+ ALL the disease can be cured or kept under prolonged control if adequately managed.
Foà et al. (Thu,) reported a other. Timely, personalized TKI therapy without systemic chemotherapy can lead to long-lived responses and minimal residual disease negativity in elderly Ph+ ALL patients.