The current treatment landscape of CML is at a very exciting time. Here, Timothy Hughes, MD, of the Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, Australia, talks about the importance of achieving early molecular response (EMR) in the first 3 months. There is a direct link between the potency of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor used and its capacity to reduce EMR failure to a minimum. For example, in patients receiving imatinib, the chances of EMR failure is between 30-40%. More potent drugs, such as dasatinib and nilotinib, bring this down further. He goes on to explain that another important factor is the biology of the disease. Patients with a high Sokal score have a very high chance of EMR failure, which decreases with the use of a more potent drug. It is important to achieve EMR, as patients who don’t have a lower probability of achieving a deep molecular response, which is the platform for treatment-free remission. This video was recorded at the 23rd congress of European Hematology Association (EHA) 2018, held in Stockholm, Sweden.
