Drug therapy of chronic myeloid leukemia
Hochhaus, A.; Berger, U.; Reiter, A.; Lahaye, T.; Kreil, S.; Hehlmann, R.üd.
Medizinische Klinik 97(Suppl 1): 7-15
2002
ISSN/ISBN: 0723-5003 PMID: 11831070 Document Number: 543824
According to the evidence-based guidelines for the therapy of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) the combination of interferon alpha (IFN) and hydroxyurea with or without low dose ara-C is the standard treatment for chronic phase CML, if no allogeneic stem cell transplantation is requested. STI571: In cases of IFN failure the new tyrosine kinase inhibitor STI571 (Glivec) shows high response rates. STI571 specifically inhibits the BCR-ABL fusion protein which is pathogenetically relevant for CML and shows abnormal tyrosine kinase activity. 91% of all CML patients in chronic phase achieve a hematologic remission within 11 months and 55% cytogenetic remission. In blast crisis, 29% achieve hematologic remission which may be durable. The available data represent response rates. Until survival data are available, the evidence-based recommendations will remain valid.