EHA 2026 | Week 144 analysis of the ASC4FIRST trial: asciminib in newly diagnosed chronic phase CML
Timothy Hughes, MD, MBBS, FRACP, FRCPA, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI), Adelaide, Australia, presents the findings from the week 144 analysis of the ASC4FIRST (NCT04971226) trial evaluating asciminib in newly diagnosed chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), highlighting its superior efficacy compared to imatinib and second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors, with improved rates of deep molecular response. Prof. Hughes also notes that the safety and tolerability profile of asciminib remains favorable. This interview took place at the 31st Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA) in Stockholm, Sweden.
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Transcript
Well, the week 144 analysis from ASC4FIRST pretty much supports the findings from the earlier analyses at week 48 and 96 that there is a better molecular response with asciminib compared to both imatinib and compared to the second generation drugs. This difference has been maintained compared to imatinib and in fact has now become quite evident not just at the level of major molecular response but now at the level of deeper molecular response including MR4 and MR4...
Well, the week 144 analysis from ASC4FIRST pretty much supports the findings from the earlier analyses at week 48 and 96 that there is a better molecular response with asciminib compared to both imatinib and compared to the second generation drugs. This difference has been maintained compared to imatinib and in fact has now become quite evident not just at the level of major molecular response but now at the level of deeper molecular response including MR4 and MR4.5. So for the first time we’re seeing that asciminib gives us superior rates of MR4.5 compared to second generation drugs. And that’s really the pathway to treatment-free remission. So I think that’s a very important finding. Otherwise, the findings are very reassuring in terms of the safety and tolerability. We haven’t seen any new mutations in the third year of asciminib treatment. So that’s good news as well. So overall, positive findings have suggested that asciminib is a good choice as a frontline therapy, both in terms of efficacy and in terms of tolerability and safety.
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