Imatinib mesylate therapy of chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia resistant or intolerant to interferon: results and prognostic factors for response and progression-free survival in 150 patients.

Background And Objectives: Imatinib mesylate has recently been shown to be highly effective in chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The results of imatinib treatment in chronic-phase CML patients resistant or intolerant to interferon (IFN) and the factors predicting therapeutic response and progression-free survival were analyzed.

Design And Methods: One hundred and fifty patients with chronic-phase CML resistant (n=111) or intolerant (n=39) to IFN were treated with imatinib.

Imatinib mesylate (STI571) treatment in patients with chronic-phase chronic myelogenous leukaemia previously submitted to autologous stem cell transplantation.

Imatinib mesylate (STI571) is a highly effective and well-tolerated treatment for patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), but information on its efficacy and tolerance in intensively pretreated patients is scarce. Thirty-three chronic-phase CML patients who were resistant or intolerant to interferon (IFN) and had been previously submitted to autologous stem cell transplantation were treated with imatinib for a median of 14 months (range: 6-19 months). Seven patients were in haematological response (HR) at the start of treatment; the remaining 26 attained a HR at a median of 3 weeks (range: 1-4 weeks).

Risk factors for acute graft-versus-host disease in patients undergoing transplantation with CD34+ selected blood cells from HLA-identical siblings.

A study on 315 patients undergoing transplantation with CD34+ selected blood cells from HLA-identical siblings was performed to determine risk factors for acute GVHD (aGVHD). Recipients of a dose of CD34+ cells (x 10(6)/kg) of 2 or less, more than 2 to 4, and more than 4 had a cumulative incidence of aGVHD grades I-IV of 21%, 35%, and 43%, respectively (log-rank P =.01); similarly, recipients of a dose of CD3+ cells (x 10(6)/kg) of 0.