The treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) in the era of tyrosine kinase inhibitors - What is new in the battle of CML?

Abstract

As the development of BCR-ABL1 targeting treatments has proceeded - first imatinib, then nilotinib and dasatinib - the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) has been revolutionised, and most patients live longer. Since tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are expensive, generic imatinibs were introduced in order to overcome this matter. Allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation is still a treatment option in selected cases. Recent advances in targeting the CML stem cell suggested that this approach alone or together with TKIs could be an alternative therapeutic strategy for curing this disease.