Dr Susanne Saussele Defines When Patients With CML Should Change Therapy

Although guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and recommendations from the European LeukemiaNet do not identify a failure time point for major molecular response (MMR) in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia, a study at the 56th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology was able to pinpoint when treatment is not working.

Susanne Saussele, MD, from the University of Heidelberg in Mannheim, Germany, co-authored a recent study “Survival and Prognosis in Patients With First-Line Imatinib Treatment Under Particular Consideration of Death Due to Chronic Myeloid Leukemia.” The study was able to define a time at which either MMR should be achieved or patients should change therapy.