Efficacy and safety following bosutinib dose reduction in patients with Philadelphia chromosome‒positive leukemias

ABSTRACT The recommended starting dose of bosutinib is 500 mg/day for chronic-phase (CP) or accelerated-/blast-phase Philadelphia chromosome–positive (Ph+) chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) resistant/intolerant to prior therapy. However, some patients may require dose reductions to manage the occurrences of adverse events (AEs). Bosutinib efficacy and safety were evaluated following dose reductions in a phase I/II study (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00261846) of Ph + patients with CP CML resistant/intolerant to imatinib or imatinib plus dasatinib and/or nilotinib, and those with accelerated-/blast-phase CML or acute lymphoblastic leukemia after at least imatinib treatment. In all, 570 patients with ≥4 years’ follow-up were included in this analysis. Among 144 patients who dose-reduced to bosutinib 400 mg/day (without reduction to 300 mg/day), 22 (15%) had complete cytogenetic response (CCyR) before and after reduction, 40 (28%) initially achieved CCyR after reduction, and 4 (3%) only had CCyR before reduction. Among 95 patients who dose-reduced to bosutinib 300 mg/day, 23 (24%) had CCyR before and after reduction, 13 (14%) initially achieved CCyR after reduction, and 3 (3%) only had CCyR before reduction. Results were similar to matched controls who remained on 500 mg/day, indicating dose reductions had not substantially affected efficacy. The incidence of treatment-emergent AEs was lower after dose reductions, particularly for gastrointestinal events. The incidence of hematologic toxicities generally was similar before and after dose reduction. The management of AEs with bosutinib through dose reduction can lead to improved/maintained efficacy and better tolerability; still approximately half of patients have maintained a dose of ≥ 500 mg/day with adequate tolerance.