Wendy Osborne, MBBS, MRCP, FRCPath, from the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, discusses the impact of side effects on elderly chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients at the 2017 British Society for Haematology (BSH) Annual Scientific Meeting in Brighton, UK. She explains that side effects can have a greater impact on elderly patients which may result in them losing their independence. Dr Osborne mentions that side effect profiles differ between different tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), that it may be beneficial to use a certain drug. She discusses different measures to keep patients from having to visit the hospital, including community-based services and telephone clinics. Dr Osborne also highlights the importance of deciding when to stop treatment. She speaks about first-line and second-line treatments currently used, and factors affecting the choice of drug. Dr Osborne points out that each patient should be assessed individually to determine which treatment would most benefit them.
