Current Status and Management of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia in the Gulf Region: Survey Results and Expert Opinion.

Simple Summary: There is a noticeable dearth of information regarding chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) within the Gulf region. This study seeks to address this gap by offering comprehensive insights into the status of CML in the Gulf, encompassing aspects such as diagnosis, testing, treatment objectives, toxicities, and discontinuation. Through a survey completed by 15 experts and subsequent discussions, this research sheds light on the management and treatment approaches for CML within the region. Remarkably, the practices observed among these experts closely align with global standards, although unique challenges pertinent to the Gulf region were distinctly identified during the discourse. Studies on chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in the Gulf region are scarce, consisting of a survey and expert meeting that included 15 experts in 2023 which discussed CML diagnosis, testing, treatment objectives, toxicities, and discontinuation in the Gulf region. Most patients were reported to be in first-line therapy, and the most common treatments were imatinib/imatinib generic in first-line and dasatinib in second- and third-lines. Mutation analysis was not reported to be routinely performed at the time of diagnosis but rather in case of progression to accelerated/blast phase or any sign of loss of response. While all participants were aware that BCR-ABL should be monitored every three months during the first year of treatment, 10% reported monitoring BCR-ABL every six months in practice due to test cost and lab capability. The most important first-line therapy objective was "achievement of major molecular response" (MMR) in younger patients and "overall survival" in older ones. The most important treatment objectives were "MMR" and "early molecular response followed by prolongation of overall survival" in the short term and "treatment-free remission" in the long term. The current practices in CML in the Gulf region appear to be similar to global figures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]