Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Treatment-free remission after first-line dasatinib treatment in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in the chronic phase: the D-NewS Study of the Kanto CML Study Group

  • Original Article
  • Published:
International Journal of Hematology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Treatment outcomes for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) have dramatically improved with the development of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI). However, due to the improved prognosis for CML, problems have arisen from long-term administration of TKI. The present study sought to verify whether more patients could achieve treatment-free remission (TFR) after stopping the administration of dasatinib using dasatinib as frontline treatment. Treatment-naïve chronic phase CML cases were treated with dasatinib as frontline treatment. Dasatinib treatment was stopped for 26 patients who achieved deep molecular response (DMR) within 24 months and were able to maintain DMR for an additional 2 years. Ten patients (38.5%) achieved DMR maintenance after 12 months. Recurrence was confirmed in 16 patients, and the median recurrence-free survival time was 5.1 months. The cumulative DMR rates at six and 12 months after restarting treatment were 84.6% and 100%, respectively. The results of this study demonstrated that the DMR maintenance rate after 12 months was 38.5%, which was not significantly different from previous TKI stop trials. The 2-year dasatinib administration period after reaching DMR did not contribute to improve TFR rates. These results suggest that the type of TKI is not associated with better TFR rates.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Druker BJ, Guilhot F, O'Brien SG, Gathmann I, Kantarjian H, Gattermann N, et al. Five-year follow-up of patients receiving imatinib for chronic myeloid leukemia. N Engl J Med. 2006;355:2408–17.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Hochhaus A, Larson RA, Guilhot F, Radich JP, Branford S, Hughes TP, et al. IRIS Investigators: long-term outcomes of imatinib treatment for chronic myeloid leukemia. N Engl J Med. 2017;376:917–27.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Kantarjian H, O’Brien S, Jabbour E, Garcia-Manero G, Quintas-Cardama A, Shan J, et al. Improved survival in chronic myeloid leukemia since the introduction of imatinib therapy: a single institution historical experience. Blood. 2012;119:1981–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Michor F, Hughes TP, Iwasa Y, Branford S, Shah NP, Sawyers CL, et al. Dynamics of chronic myeloid leukaemia. Nature. 2005;435:1267–70.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Cortes JE, Saglio G, Kantarjian HM, Baccarani M, Mayer J, Boqué C, et al. Final 5-year study results of DASISION: the dasatinib versus imatinib study in treatment-naïve chronic myeloid leukemia patients trial. J Clin Oncol. 2016;34:2333–400.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Hochhaus A, Saglio G, Hughes TP, Larson RA, Kim D, Issaragrisil S, et al. Long-term benefits and risks of frontline nilotinib vs imatinib for chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase: 5-year update of the randomized ENESTnd trial. Leukemia. 2016;30:1044–54.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Doufils J, Haguet H, Mullier F, Chatelain C, Graux C, Dogné JM. Association between BCR-ABL tyrosine kinase inhibitors for chronic myeloid leukemia and cardiovascular events, major molecular response, and overall survival: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Oncol. 2016;2:625–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Padula WV, Larson RA, Dusetzina SB, Apperley JF, Hehlmann R, Baccarani M, et al. Cost-effectiveness of tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment strategies for chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase after generic entry of imatinib in the United States. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2016;108:djw003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Shanmuganathan N, Hughes TP. Molecular monitoring in CML: how deep? How often? How should it influence therapy? Hematol Am Soc Hematol Educ Progr. 2018;2018:168–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Mahon FX, Réa D, Guilhot J, Guilhot F, Huguet F, Nicolini F, Intergroupe Français des Leucémies Myéloïdes Chroniques, et al. Discontinuation of imatinib in patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia who have maintained complete molecular remission for at least 2 years: the prospective, multicentre Stop Imatinib (STIM) trial. Lancet Oncol. 2010;11:1029–35.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Cortes J, Rea D, Lipton JH. Treatment-free remission with first- and second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Am J Hematol. 2019;94:346–57.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Yoshida C, Fletcher L, Ohashi K, Wakita H, Kumagai T, Shiseki M, et al. Harmonization of molecular monitoring of chronic myeloid leukemia therapy in Japan. Int J Clin Oncol. 2012;17:584–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Nakamae H, Fujisawa S, Ogura M, Uchida T, Onishi Y, Taniwaki M, et al. Dasatinib versus imatinib in Japanese patients with newly diagnosed chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia: a subanalysis of the DASISION 5-year final report. Int J Hematol. 2017;105:792–804.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Hochhaus A, Masszi T, Giles FJ, Radich JP, Ross DM, Gómez Casares MT, et al. Treatment-free remission following frontline nilotinib in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase: results from the ENEST freedom study. Leukemia. 2017;31:1525–31.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Mahon FX, Boquimpani C, Kim DW, Benyamini N, Clementino NCD, Shuvaev V, et al. Treatment-free remission after second-line nilotinib treatment in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase: results from a single-group, phase 2, open-label study. Ann Intern Med. 2018;168:461–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Rea D, Nicolini FE, Tulliez M, Guilhot F, Guilhot J, Guerci-Bresler A, France Intergroupe des Leucémies Myéloïdes Chroniques, et al. Discontinuation of dasatinib or nilotinib in chronic myeloid leukemia: interim analysis of the STOP 2G-TKI study. Blood. 2017;129:846–54.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Imagawa J, Tanaka H, Okada M, Nakamae H, Hino M, Murai K, DADI Trial Group, et al. Discontinuation of dasatinib in patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia who have maintained deep molecular response for longer than 1 year (DADI trial): a multicentre phase 2 trial. Lancet Haematol. 2015;2:e528–e535535.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Kumagai T, Nakaseko C, Nishiwaki K, Yoshida C, Ohashi K, Takezako N, Kanto CML, and Shimousa Hematology Study Groups, et al. Dasatinib cessation after deep molecular response exceeding 2 years and natural killer cell transition during dasatinib consolidation. Cancer Sci. 2018;109:182–92.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Takahashi N, Tauchi T, Kitamura K, Miyamura K, Saburi Y, Hatta Y, et al. Deeper molecular response is a predictive factor for treatment-free remission after imatinib discontinuation in patients with chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia: the JALSG-STIM213 study. Int J Hematol. 2018;107:185–93.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Mori S, Vagge E, le Coutre P, Abruzzese E, Martino B, Pungolino E, et al. Age and dPCR can predict relapse in CML patients who discontinued imatinib: the ISAV study. Am J Hematol. 2015;90:910–4.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Etienne G, Guilhot J, Rea D, Rigal-Huguet F, Nicolini F, Charbonnier A, et al. Long-term follow-up of the French Stop Imatinib (STIM1) study in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia. J Clin Oncol. 2017;35:298–305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Ross DM, Branford S, Seymour JF, Schwarer AP, Arthur C, Yeung DT, et al. Safety and efficacy of imatinib cessation for CML patients with stable undetectable minimal residual disease: results from the TWISTER study. Blood. 2013;122:515–22.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Richter J, Mahron FX, Guilhot J, Hjorth-Hansen H, Almeida A, Janssen JJ, et al. Stopping tyrosine kinase inhibitors in a very large cohort of European chronic myeloid leukemia patients: results of the EURO-SKI trial. Haematologica. 2016;101:S145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Saussele S, Richter J, Guilhot J, Hjorth-Hansen H, Medina-de-Almeida A, Janssen JJWM, et al. “Duration of deep molecular response” has most impact on the success of cessation of tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment in chronic myeloid leukemia- results from the EURO-SKI Trial. Blood. 2017;130:313.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Rousselot P, Charbonnier A, Cony-Makhoul P, Agape P, Nicolini FE, Varet B, et al. Loss of major molecular response as a trigger for restarting tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy in patients with chronic-phase chronic myelogenous leukemia who have stopped imatinib after durable undetectable disease. J Clin Oncol. 2014;32:424–30.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Ross DM, Branford S, Seymour JF, Schwarer AP, Arthur C, Bartley PA, et al. Patients with chronic myeloid leukemia who maintain a complete molecular response after stopping imatinib treatment have evidence of persistent leukemia by DNA PCR. Leukemia. 2010;24:1719–24.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Copland M, Hamilton A, Elrick LJ, Baird JW, Allan EK, Jordanides N, et al. Dasatinib (BMS-354825) targets an earlier progenitor population than imatinib in primary CML but does not eliminate the quiescent fraction. Blood. 2006;107:4532–9.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Corbin AS, Agarwal A, Loriaux M, Cortes J, Deininger MW, Druker BJ. Human chronic myeloid leukemia stem cells are insensitive to imatinib despite inhibition of BCR-ABL activity. J Clin Invest. 2011;121:396–409.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Hughes A, Yong ASM. Immune effector recovery in chronic myeloid leukemia and treatment-free remission. Front Immunol. 2017;8:469.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Hughes A, Clarson J, Tang C, et al. CML patients with deep molecular responses to TKI have restored immune effectors and decreased PD-1 and immune suppressors. Blood. 2017;129:1166–76.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Burchert A, Saussele S, Eigendorff E, Müller MC, Sohlbach K, Inselmann S, et al. Interferon alpha 2 maintenance therapy may enable high rates of treatment discontinuation in chronic myeloid leukemia. Leukemia. 2015;29:1331–5.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Massimino M, Stella S, Tirrò E, Romano C, Pennisi MS, Puma A, et al. Non ABL-directed inhibitors as alternative treatment strategies for chronic myeloid leukemia. Mol Cancer. 2018;17:56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Prost S, Relouzat F, Spentchian M, Ouzegdouh Y, Saliba J, Massonnet G, et al. Erosion of the chronic myeloid leukaemia stem cell pool by PPARγ agonists. Nature. 2015;525:380–3.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. Grockowiak E, Laperrousaz B, Jeanpierre S, Voeltzel T, Guyot B, Gobert S, et al. Immature CML cells implement a BMP autocrine loop to escape TKI treatment. Blood. 2017;130:2860–71.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Rinaldetti S, Pfirrmann M, Manz K, Guilhot J, Dietz C, Panagiotidis P, et al. Effect of ABCG2, OCT1, and ABCB1 (MDR1) gene expression on treatment-free remission in a EURO-SKI subtrial. Clin Lymphoma Myeloma Leuk. 2018;18:266–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Epidemiological and Clinical Research Information Network (ECRIN). This research was conducted as Investigator Sponsored Research with financial support by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Ltd.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hiroki Yamaguchi.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

Hiroki Yamaguchi received honoraria from Novartis Co., Ltd., Kazuteru Ohashi received research support from Celgene Co., Ltd., Jansen Pharma Co., Ltd., Chugai Pharma Co., Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Ltd., Novartis Pharma Co., Ltd., and Kirin Co., Ltd., and served as consultant and advisor of Celgene Co., Ltd., Novartis Co., Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Ltd., and Ariad Co., Ltd., and honoraria from Novartis Co., Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Ltd., and Nippon Shinyaku Co., Ltd. Koji Oba received honoraria from Eisai Co., Ltd., Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Daiichi-Sankyo Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Asahi Kasei Pharma Corp., Takeda Pharmaceuticals, Co., Ltd., and Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Chikashi Yoshida received honoraria from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Ltd., Novartis Co., Ltd., Pfizer Co., Ltd., and Otsuka Pharmacology Co., Ltd.. Takashi Kumagai received honoraria from Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Ltd., Novartis Co., Ltd., Pfizer Co., Ltd., and Otsuka Pharmacology Co., Ltd.. Shinichiro Okamoto received research support and honoraria from Novartis Co., Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Ltd., Pfizer Co., Ltd., and Otsuka Co., Ltd., Koiti Inokuchi received research support from Celgene Co., Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Ltd., and Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and received honoraria from Novartis Co., Ltd., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., Ltd., and Pfizer Co., Ltd.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Yamaguchi, H., Takezako, N., Ohashi, K. et al. Treatment-free remission after first-line dasatinib treatment in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in the chronic phase: the D-NewS Study of the Kanto CML Study Group. Int J Hematol 111, 401–408 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12185-019-02801-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12185-019-02801-z

Keywords

Navigation