A significant proportion of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia and suboptimal response according to European Leukemia Net criteria have excellent prognosis without treatment change.

Background: The Recommendations of the European Leukemia Net (ELN) have become an essential tool in the management and prognosis of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). However, the definition of suboptimal response remains under discussion.

Methods: We used conventional cytogenetics for the detection of clonal changes in Ph-positive and negative clones.

Imatinib trough plasma levels do not correlate with the response to therapy in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in routine clinical setting.

Association of trough imatinib plasma levels (IPL) with cytogenetic or molecular response to treatment in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) was repeatedly reported. We analyzed their value in the routine clinical setting in 131 patients with chronic phase CML in whom imatinib was applied as first- or second-line treatment. A total of 1,118 measurements were obtained by ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry assay in patients treated with daily dose of imatinib ranging from 100 to 800 mg.

Operational cures after interferon-alpha in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in Central and Northern Moravia.

We assessed long-term outcome of 118 consecutive patients in chronic phase of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) treated with interferon-alpha (IFN-α) in the Central and Northern Moravia region between 1989 and 2006 with focus on operational cure. The median follow-up was 82.6 months (range 12.

Imatinib dose escalation in two patients with chronic myeloid leukemia, with low trough imatinib plasma levels measured at various intervals from the beginning of therapy and with suboptimal treatment response, leads to the achievement of higher plasma levels and major molecular response.

Despite the prognostic value of trough imatinib plasma levels (IPL) identified in some studies, no recommendations for the use of IPL results in routine management of CML patients have been issued. We report two patients in whom daily imatinib dose was increased from 400 to 600 or 800 mg because of low IPL found at various intervals from the beginning of treatment (7 measurements; mean IPL values = 616.33 and 764.

Imatinib mesylate efficacy in 72 previously treated Philadelphia-positive chronic myeloid leukemia patients with and without additional chromosomal changes: single-center results.

Reported here are 72 previously treated Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) CML patients on imatinib (IM) therapy, with a focus on patients with additional chromosomal aberrations (CAs). At the start of IM treatment, 49 patients exhibited only the Ph chromosome (68%) and 23 patients (32%) had one or more additional CAs. The most frequent additional changes were deletions on the der(9q) (8 of 23), trisomy 8 (3 of 23), and an extra copy of the Ph chromosome (2 of 23).

Successful childbirth in a patient with chronic myelogenous leukemia treated with imatinib mesylate during early pregnancy.

Aims: To report a case of successful pregnancy in a patient with chronic myelogenous leukemia treated with imatinib mesylate for the first 4 months of pregnancy.

Results: Imatinib mesylate is potentially teratogenic and its use during pregnancy in humans can lead to abortion or development of fetal abnormalities in nearly 40% of fully reported cases. We report a case of a 28-year-old woman who delivered a healthy child of normal weight after having been treated with imatinib for Ph1-positive CML during the first four months of her pregnancy.

Intermittent dosage of imatinib mesylate in CML patients with a history of significant hematologic toxicity after standard dosing.

Hematologic toxicity is reported as one of the most important problems connected with imatinib mesylate (IM) treatment in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Withholding the drug or application of growth factors is recommended in this situation. This study introduced a novel approach using intermittent dosage of IM in order to avoid prolonged interruptions in therapy, to allow spontaneous recovery in blood count and, simultaneously, to achieve intermittently therapeutic plasma drug levels.