A population study showing that the advent of second generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors has improved progression-free survival in chronic myeloid leukaemia

Abstract Background Population based data suggest the proportion of patients failing imatinib in chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is higher than the reported one-third of patients in clinical trials. Clinical trials have demonstrated second generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) dasatinib and nilotinib can restore complete cytogenetic remission (CCR) and major molecular response (MMR) to many patients failing imatinib, but their impact in the general population is not clear. Design and methods We report CML outcome in a population of 2.3 million people in a geographically contiguous area of North West England and North Wales. Results Between 2003 and 2009, 192 new CML cases were diagnosed, of whom 184 were in chronic phase and 160 started on imatinib. The maximal CCR rate was 65% at 24 months and the maximal MMR rate was 50% at 36 months. Patients diagnosed since second generation TKI became available for imatinib failure had a more rapid cumulative CCR and MMR rate and a significantly improved progression free survival ( p  = 0.022) than those diagnosed before this time. Conclusion The study indicates that second generation TKI have improved CML outcome in the general population.