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Monitoring patients in complete cytogenetic remission after treatment of CML in chronic phase with imatinib: patterns of residual leukaemia and prognostic factors for cytogenetic relapse

Leukemia volume 19, pages 507–512 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

We monitored BCR–ABL transcript levels by quantitative real-time PCR in 103 patients treated with imatinib for chronic myeloid leukaemia in chronic phase for a median of 30.3 months (range 5.5–49.9) after they achieved complete cytogenetic remission (CCyR). The patients could be divided into three groups: (1) in 32 patients transcript levels continued to decline during the period of observation (nadir BCR–ABL/ABL ratio 0.015%); in five of these patients BCR–ABL transcripts became undetectable on repeated testing, (2) in 42 patients the transcript levels reached a plateau and (3) in 26 patients transcript numbers increased and the initial CCyR was lost. Three patients were not evaluable. Patients who remained in CCyR for at least 24 months appeared to have a low risk of subsequent cytogenetic relapse. We conclude that the pattern of ‘residual’ disease after achieving CCyR on imatinib is variable: some patients in CCyR show a progressive reduction in the level of residual disease, some reach a plateau where transcript numbers are relatively stable and others relapse with Ph-positive metaphases.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the many medical and nursing staff involved in the care of the patients included in this analysis. We thank the technical staff responsible for the cytogenetic and molecular analyses. Some of the patients were treated in studies 110, 113 and 0106 with imatinib (GlivecR) provided at no cost by Novartis Pharma (Basel, Switzerland).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Haematology, Imperial College London at Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK

    D Marin, J Kaeda, R Szydlo, S Saunders, A Fleming, J Howard, C Andreasson, M Bua, E Olavarria, A Rahemtulla, F Dazzi, E Kanfer, J M Goldman & J F Apperley

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  1. D Marin
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  2. J Kaeda
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  3. R Szydlo
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  4. S Saunders
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  5. A Fleming
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  7. C Andreasson
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  8. M Bua
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Correspondence to J M Goldman.

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Marin, D., Kaeda, J., Szydlo, R. et al. Monitoring patients in complete cytogenetic remission after treatment of CML in chronic phase with imatinib: patterns of residual leukaemia and prognostic factors for cytogenetic relapse. Leukemia 19, 507–512 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2403664

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