Efficacy and Safety of Generic Dasatinib as a Second-line Treatment for Patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia:a Multicenter Retrospective Study in Hubei Province,China

Dasatinib is a second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI)and it could be used as a second-line treatment for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).Yinishu,a generic dasatinib made in China,was approved by the China Food and Drug Administration in 2013 and it costs much less than the patented dasatinib SPRYCEL.The present study aimed to examine the efficacy and safety of Yinishu as a second-line treatment for CML by comparing the baseline clinical characteristics,rates of adverse events and efficacy between Yinishu and SPRYCEL groups. The results showed that there were no significant differences in the rates of optimal response between Yinishu and SPRYCEL for patients who started second-line treatment because of treatment failure.For patients who started second-line treatment because of intolerance of first-line treatment, their levels of BCR-ABL1/ABL1 on the international scale (BCR-ABL^IS)was maintained very low throughout the course of Yinishu treatment.Drug-related adverse events occurred with the same frequency in these two groups.It was confirmed that Yinishu was effective and safe as a second- line treatment for CML patients.Yinishu may be more suitable for patients who are economically unable to pay for the patented dasatinib SPRYCEL.

Ruxolitinib add-on in corticosteroid-refractory graft-vs-host disease after allogeneic stem cell transplantation:Results from a retrospective study on 38 Chinese patients

BACKGROUND Graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) is a major cause of mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.Some patients have steroid-refractory(SR) GVHD.AIM To evaluate the effect and safety of ruxolitinib add-on in the treatment of patients with SR acute (a) and chronic (c) GVHD.METHODS We retrospectively analyzed 38 patients administered ruxolitinib add-on to standard immunosuppressive therapy for SR-aGVHD or SR-cGVHD following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.Ruxolitinib was administered5-10 mg/d depending on disease severity,patient status,and the use of antifungal drugs.Overall response rate,time to best response,malignancy relapse rate,infection rate,and treatment-related adverse events were assessed.RESULTS The analysis included 10 patients with SR-aGVHD (gradeⅢ/Ⅳ,n=9) and 28patients with SR-cGVHD (moderate/severe,n=24).For the SR-aGVHD and SRcGVHD groups,respectively:Median number of previous GVHD therapies was 2(range:1-3) and 2 (1-4);median follow-up was 2.5 (1.5-4) and 5 (1.5-10) mo;median time to best response was 1 (0.5-2.5) and 3 (1-9.5) mo;and overall response rate was 100%(complete response:80%) and 82.1%(complete response:10.7%) with a response observed in all GVHD-affected organs.The malignancy relapse rates for the SR-aGVHD and SR-cGVHD groups were 10.0%and 10.7%,respectively.Reactivation rates for cytomegalovirus,Epstein-Barr virus,and varicella-zoster virus,respectively,were 30.0%,10.0%,and 0%for the SR-aGVHD group and 0%,14.3%,and 7.1%for the SR-cGVHD group.CONCLUSION Ruxolitinib add-on was effective and safe as salvage therapy for SR-GVHD.

Monitoring and Analysis of Chinese Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Patients Who Have Stopped Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor Therapy

Discontinuation of tyrosine kinase inhibitor(TKI)therapy after achieving a persistent deep molecular response(DMR)is an urgently needed treatment goal for chronic myeloid leukemia(CML)patients and has been included in the National Comprehensive Cancer Network(NCCN)guidelines(version 2.2017)for CML.Indeed,various studies have confirmed the feasibility of discontinuing TKI therapy.In this study,we analyzed data from 45 CML patients who had discontinued TKI therapy.Univariate analysis was performed to predict factors that were potentially related to treatment-free remission(TFR)and identify the differences between early relapse and late relapse.Out of the 45 patients,20 exhibited molecular relapse after a median follow-up of 18 months(range,1-54 months),and the estimated TFR at 24 months was 40%.The univariate analysis revealed that a high Sokal score and interruptions or dose reductions during TKI treatment were the only baseline factors associated with poor outcomes.Our results indicate that TKI discontinuation could be successfully put into practice in China.