Key clinical point: At 2 years, molecular recurrence-free survival (MRFS) after imatinib discontinuation was observed in over half of the patients with chronic phase-chronic myeloid leukemia (CML-CP) with sustained molecular response of 4log (MR4). MR of 4.5log (MR4.5) was associated with a lower risk of relapse.
Major finding: At 24 months, MRFS was 54% (95% CI, 39%-75%). Molecular relapse was observed in 42% of patients. All patients reachieved major molecular response after resuming imatinib. MR4.5 at discontinuation was associated with a lower risk of molecular relapse (odds ratio, 0.32; P = .03).
Study details : Findings are from a prospective study that evaluated treatment-free survival after imatinib discontinuation in 31 patients with CML-CP with sustained MR4 for at least 12 months and treated with first-line imatinib for at least 36 months.
Disclosures: No specific funding was received for this study. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
Source: Seguro FS et al. Leuk Res. 2021 Jan 21. doi: 10.1016/j.leukres.2021.106516 .