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Background: Limited information is available regarding the rate of long-term cardiovascular (CV) mortality in chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) patients treated with second- and third-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (2 ndG /3 rdG TKIs) in the real-life practice., Methods: We identified 656 consecutive CML patients treated with nilotinib, dasatinib, bosutinib and ponatinib., Results: The 15-year CV-mortality free survival was 93 ± 2.8%. Age ≥65 years (p = 0.005) and a positive history of CV disease (p = 0.04) were significantly associated with a lower CV-mortality free survival. CV disease accounted for 16.5% and 5% of potential years of life lost (PYLL) in male and female patients, respectively. The standard mortality ratio (SMR) following ischemic heart disease (IHD) was 3.9 in males and 3.8 in female patients, meaning an excess of IHD deaths observed, in comparison with the population of control., Conclusion: Prevention strategies based on CV risk factors, in particular in those patients with a previous history of CV disease, should be considered., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

There is paucity of evidence-based data on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) outcomes of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). We performed a multicenter propensity-matched case-control study to compare HRQOL of newly diagnosed CML patients treated with front-line dasatinib (cases) or imatinib (controls). Patient-reported HRQOL was assessed with the EORTC QLQ-C30 and the EORTC QLQ-CML24 questionnaires. The impact on daily life scale of the EORTC QLQ-CML24 was selected a priori in the protocol as the primary HRQOL scale for the comparative analysis. Overall, 323 CML patients were enrolled of whom 223 in therapy with imatinib and 100 in therapy with dasatinib. Patients treated with dasatinib reported better disease-specific HRQOL outcomes in impact on daily life (Δ = 8.72, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.17-14.27, p = 0.002), satisfaction with social life (Δ = 13.45, 95% CI: 5.82-21.08, p = 0.001), and symptom burden (Δ = 7.69, 95% CI: 3.42-11.96, p = 0.001). Analysis by age groups showed that, in patients aged 60 years and over, differences favoring dasatinib were negligible across several cancer generic and disease-specific HRQOL domains. Our findings provide novel comparative HRQOL data that extends knowledge on safety and efficacy of these two TKIs and may help to facilitate first-line treatment decisions.

Pleural effusion (PE) represents the leading cause of dasatinib (DAS) discontinuation. However, the pathogenic mechanism of this adverse event (AE) is unknown and its management unclear. We investigated if a DAS dose reduction after the first PE would prevent the recurrence of this AE. We retrospectively collected data on all the cases of PE in CML-chronic phase (CP) DAS-treated patients from November 2005 to February 2017 in 21 Italian hematological centers. We identified 196 cases of PE in a series of 853 CML-CP DAS-treated patients (incidence 23.0%). DAS starting dose was 100 mg/day in 70.4% of patients, less than 100 mg/day in 14.3%, and more than 100 mg/day in the remaining cases. Median time from DAS start to PE was 16.6 months. At first PE development, 28.6% of patients were in MMR, and 37.8% in deep molecular response (DMR). DAS was temporary interrupted in 71.9% of cases, with a dose reduction in 59.2%. Recurrence was observed in 59.4% of the cases. Treatment was definitively discontinued due to PE in 29.1% of the cases. Interestingly, among patients whose DAS dosage was reduced, 59.5% experienced PE recurrence. DAS dose reduction after the first episode of PE did not prevent recurrence of this AE. Therefore, once a MMR or a DMR is achieved, different strategies of DAS dose management can be proposed prior to the development of PE, such as daily dose reduction or, as an alternative option, an on/off treatment with a weekend drug holiday.

Dasatinib (DAS) has been licensed for the frontline treatment in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). However, very few data are available regarding its efficacy and toxicity in elderly patients with CML outside clinical trials. To address this issue, we set out a "real-life" cohort of 65 chronic phase CML patients older than 65 years (median age 75.1 years) treated frontline with DAS in 26 Italian centers from June 2012 to June 2015, focusing our attention on toxicity and efficacy data. One third of patients (20/65: 30.7%) had 3 or more comorbidities and required concomitant therapies; according to Sokal classification, 3 patients (4.6%) were low risk, 39 (60.0%) intermediate risk, and 20 (30.8%) high risk, whereas 3 (4.6%) were not classifiable. DAS starting dose was 100 mg once a day in 54 patients (83.0%), whereas 11 patients (17.0%) received less than 100 mg/day. Grade 3/4 hematologic and extrahematologic toxicities were reported in 8 (12.3%) and 12 (18.5%) patients, respectively. Overall, 10 patients (15.4%) permanently discontinued DAS because of toxicities. Pleural effusions (all WHO grades) occurred in 12 patients (18.5%) and in 5 of them occurred during the first 3 months. DAS treatment induced in 60/65 patients (92.3%) a complete cytogenetic response and in 50/65 (76.9%) also a major molecular response. These findings show that DAS might play an important role in the frontline treatment of CML patients >65 years old, proving efficacy and having a favorable safety profile also in elderly subjects with comorbidities., (Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Dasatinib was approved for the treatment of chronic phase (CP) chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients in first line therapy based on the demonstration of efficacy and safety reported in patients enrolled in clinical trials. We describe a multicentric Italian "real-life" experience of dasatinib used as frontline treatment outside clinical trials. One hundred and nine patients (median age 54 years) were treated from January 2012 to December 2013. Increased incidence of high risk patients were detected according to stratification (26% according to Sokal score, 19% according to Euro score and 16% according to EUTOS) when compared to company sponsored studies. Median time from diagnosis to start of dasatinib was 18 days. Ten patients received unscheduled starting dose (6 patients 50mg and 4 patients 80 mg QD), whereas 99 patients started with 100mg QD. At 3 months, 92% of patients achieved a BCR-ABL ratio less than 10%. At 6 months, the rate of CCyR was 91% and the rate of MR3 was 40%, with 8% of the patients reaching MR4.5. Ninety-three patients were evaluable at 12 months: the rate of MR3 was 62%, with MR4.5 being achieved by 19% of the patients. At a median follow-up of 12 months, 27 patients (24.7%) were receiving the drug at reduced dose. Two patients (1.8%) experienced a lymphoid blast crisis and the overall incidence of resistance was 8%. As regards safety, the major side effects recorded were thrombocytopenia, neutropenia and pleural effusions, which occurred in 22%, 10% and 8% of patients, respectively. Present results, achieved in a large cohort of patients treated outside clinical trials, further confirm the efficacy and safety of dasatinib as firstline treatment in CML., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Scarce information is available on the use of ponatinib as second-line treatment in chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CP-CML) patients resistant and/or intolerant to prior tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy. We collected data from 29 CML patients, with a median age of 54 years (range 32-72). Eleven patients had received dasatinib, 15 patients received nilotinib, and 3 patients received imatinib as first-line treatment. Forty-five percent of patients started ponatinib for secondary resistance, 38% for primary resistance, 7% for severe intolerance associated to a molecular warning, 7% due to the presence of a T315I mutation, and 3% for severe intolerance. Ponatinib was started at a dose of 45 mg in 60% of patients, 30 mg in 38%, and 15 mg in 2% of patients. Overall, at a median follow-up of 12 months, 85% of treated patients improved the level of response as compared to baseline, with 10 patients achieving a deep molecular response (MR4-4.5). No thrombotic events were recorded. The dose was reduced during treatment in 2 patients due to intolerance and in 8 patients in order to reduce the cardiovascular risk. Ponatinib seems a valid second-line treatment option for chronic phase CML, in particular for patients who failed a front-line second-generation TKI due to BCR-ABL-independent mechanisms of resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Risk of death is particularly high in patients with a previous history of arterial occlusive events (AOEs) and the probability for a recurrent event is around 20%. Little is known about recurrent AOE and the role of secondary prevention in patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) with previous AOE, treated with second- and third-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (2ndG/3rdG TKIs), nilotinib, dasatinib, bosutinib and ponatinib. We identified a real-life cohort of 57 consecutive adult CML patients treated with 2ndG/3rdG TKI. All patients had a previous history of AOE. Ongoing use of secondary prevention of AOE (including antiplatelet agents, anticoagulant therapy, and statins) before starting a 2ndG/3rdG TKI was recorded, as well as CV risk factors. The 60-month cumulative incidence rate of recurrent AOEs was 47.8 ± 10.9%. Despite a history of AOE, 10 patients (16%) were not receiving secondary preventative measures. Patients treated with nilotinib and ponatinib showed a higher incidence of recurrent AOEs (76.7 ± 14.3% and 64 ± 20.1%, respectively) than those treated with dasatinib and bosutinib (44 ± 24.2% and 30.5 ± 15.5%, respectively) (p = 0.01). Only treatment with a 2ndG/3rdG TKI given as second or subsequent line therapy showed a significant association with an increased incidence of recurrent AOE (p = 0.039). Overall, 17 recurrent AOEs were observed; 3 CV-related deaths were reported. CML patients with a previous history of AOE treated with 2ndG/3rdG TKI represent a particular patient population with a higher probability of experiencing a recurrent AOE; individualized treatment is needed to optimize secondary prevention. • Risk of death is particularly high in patients with a previous history of arterial occlusive events (AOEs) and the probability for a recurrent event is around 20%. • Recurrent AOE in patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) treated with second- and third-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (2ndG/3rdG TKIs), represent a clinical challenge. • CML patients with a previous history of AOE treated with 2ndG/3rdG TKI represent a particular patient population with a higher probability of experiencing a recurrent AOE; • Individualized treatment is needed to optimize secondary prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To highlight dasatinib role in the elderly, 125 unselected patients with CP-CML aged >60 years resistant/intolerant to imatinib were retrospectively evaluated. Grade 3–4 haematological and extra-haematological toxicities were reported in 39 (31.2%) and 34 (27.2%) patients; grade 3–4 haematological toxicity was higher in patients with 140mg starting dose (50.0% vs 19.6%, p =0.001). Grade 3–4 pleuro-pericardial effusions occurred in 10 patients (8.0%). Dose reductions were more common in patients with 140mg (88.4% vs 26.7%, p <0.001). Of 122 evaluable patients, 72 (59.1%) had cytogenetic response [12 (9.8%) partial, 60 (49.3%) complete]. Overall, 38/60 patients in complete CyR also achieved a molecular response. Cumulative OS at 24 and 48 months were 93.1% (95% CI 88.4–97.8) and 84.2% (95% CI 74.6–93.7). Dasatinib, at the recommended dose of 100mg/day, is effective and safe also in unselected elderly subjects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]