Treatment of patients with Philadelphia positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Abstract

Translocation (9;22)(q34:q11.2), called Philadelphia chromosome (Ph), is the most frequent cytogenetic aberration among adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Before the era of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI), ALL Ph+ was associated with particularly poor prognosis. Introduction of imatinib (IM) in combination with induction-consolidation chemotherapy increased complete remission rate to over 90% and allowed application of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation to greater proportion of patients. First reports on long term results indicate that 5-year probability of the overall survival is now approximately 50%. Further improvement requires prospective clinical trials aimed to optimize the protocols of IM administration and evaluate potential role of 2nd generation TKI in the up-front therapy of adults with ALL Ph+.
Hematologia 2011; 2, 1: 33–41