Efficacy of Imatinib Dose Escalation in Patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia in Chronic Phase

Background: Imatinib mesylate given orally at a daily dose of 400 mg is the standard of care as initial therapy for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in chronic phase (CML-CP). Treatment guidelines propose dose escalation based on clinical assessments of disease response.

Methods: Response and survival were analyzed in a cohort of patients (n = 106) with newly diagnosed CML-CP who were enrolled on the International Randomized Study of Interferon and STI571 (IRIS) trial, who began treatment with imatinib at a dose of 400 mg daily, and who subsequently underwent dose escalation to either 600 mg or 800 mg daily. Reasons for dose escalation were evaluated retrospectively based on 2 sets of criteria: the IRIS protocol-defined criteria (n = 39 patients) and the European LeukemiaNet (ELN) recommendations (n = 48 patients).

Results: Among all 106 patients who underwent dose escalation, the rates of freedom from progression to accelerated phase or blast phase and overall survival were 89% and 84% at 3 years after dose increase, respectively. A cytogenetic response was obtained in 42% of patients who had their dose escalated based on protocol criteria and in 38% of patients who had their dose escalated according to the ELN recommendations.

Conclusions: The results from this retrospective analysis supported imatinib dose escalation as an appropriate initial option for patients with CML-CP who were experiencing suboptimal cytogenetic response or resistance.