A number of patients with chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CP-CML) who have received BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitors in clinical trials have achieved a stable and deep molecular response, according to a recent review. Additionally, results show that they have a ~50% chance of entering treatment-free remission.

The authors note that monitoring for minimal residual disease by measuring BCR-ABL1 messenger RNA is an important part of managing these patients. Careful patient selection, dense molecular monitoring, and prompt treatment resumption upon relapse are all vital to reproduce the same level of success in practice that has been achieved in trials, they add.