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Introduction: Tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy has greatly improved the prognosis of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), improving the survival expectancy of patients with chronic phase (CP) CML to that of the general population. However, despite these advances, nearly 50% of patients with CP CML experience failure to respond to frontline therapy, and most fail to respond to the subsequent second-line TKI. Treatment guidelines for patients failing second-line therapy are lacking. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of TKIs as third-line therapy in a "real-world" clinical practice setting and identify factors favorably influencing the long-term outcomes of therapy. Methods: We have retrospectively analyzed the medical records of 100 patients with CP CML. Results: The median age of the patients was 51 (range, 21-88) years, and 36% of the patients were men. The median duration of the third-line TKI therapy was 22 (range, 1- 147) months. Overall, the rate of achieving complete cytogenetic response (CCyR) was 35%. Among the four patient groups with different levels of responses at baseline, the best results were achieved in the groups with any CyR at the baseline of third-line therapy. Thus, СCyR was reached in all 15 and 8/ 16 (50%) patients with partial cytogenetic response (PCyR) or minimal or minor CyR (mmCyR), respectively, whereas CCyR was detected only in 12/69 (17%) patients without any CyR at baseline (p < 0.001). Univariate regression analysis revealed that the factors negatively associated with CCyR achievement in thirdline TKI therapy were the absence of any CyR on first- or second-line TKI therapy (p < 0.001), absence of CHR prior to third-line TKI (p = 0.003), and absence of any CyR prior to third-line TKI (p < 0.001). During the median observation time from treatment initiation to the last visit [56 (4-180) months], 27% of cases progressed into accelerated phase or blast phase CML, and 32% of patients died. Discussion: Progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were significantly higher in patients with CCyR on third-line than in the group without CCyR on third-line therapy. At the last visit, third-line TKI therapy was ongoing in 18% of patients, with a median time of treatment exposure of 58 (range, 6-140) months; 83% of these patients had stable and durable CCyR, suggesting that patients without CHR at baseline and without CCyR at least by 12 months on third-line TKI should be candidates for allogeneic stem cell transplantation, third-generation TKIs, or experimental therapies.
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OBJECTIVES: To the best of our knowledge, data from Gemtuzumab ozogamicin in Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) patients with failure of organ functions and poor performance status are extremely lacking. Moreover, the fast recovery from organ failure, after Gemtuzumab ozogamicin administration, has never been reported. This study aimed to demonstrate the efficacy and rapid response of Gemtuzumab ozogamicin in refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with pulmonary and kidney failure and poor performance status. Three refractory AML patients, with organ dysfunction, are described. One patient was pre-treated with intensive chemotherapy, and two other patients progressed during Azacitidine treatment. Two patients had respiratory failure grade 2 and one patient suffered from acute kidney insufficiency. Two patients were highly febrile with an elevated С-Reactive Protein (CRP) level. The WHO performance status of three was measured in all patients. Gemtuzumab ozogamicin administration was performed in three patients, followed by a further switch to Gemtuzumab ozogamicin + Azacitidine or "7+3" treatment. RESULTS: Gemtuzumab ozogamicin administration resulted in abrupt fever cessation in two febrile patients simultaneously with a rapid decrease in CRP level and fast resolution of respiratory failure. Recovery of kidney function was noticed rapidly in patients with renal insufficiency. The WHO performance status was elevated in all three patients. No adverse grade II-III effects were noticed. Further treatment made two patients eligible for intensive chemotherapy, one patient underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation, and the patient with kidney failure obtained complete remission. CONCLUSIONS: Gemtuzumab ozogamicin therapy appeared to be safe and highly efficacious in relapsed/refractory AML patients with organ dysfunction, like pulmonary or renal failure and poor performance status, and may contribute to rapid recovery from organ failures.
