6 research outputs found
Imatinib plus steroids induces complete remissions and prolonged survival in elderly Philadelphia chromosome-positive patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia without additional chemotherapy: results of the Gruppo Italiano Malattie Ematologiche dell'Adulto (GIMEMA) LAL0201-B protocol.
Thirty elderly (> 60 years) Philadelphia
chromosome\u2013positive (Ph ) patients with
acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) received
imatinib, 800 mg daily, associated
to steroids without further chemotherapy
as frontline treatment. Median age was 69
years (range, 61-83 years). Twenty-nine
patients were evaluable for response and
all of them obtained a hematologic complete
remission, with a median BCR-ABL
reduction of 2.9 and 2.0 logs in p190 and
p210 cases, respectively. Most of the
induction treatment did not require admission
of the patients. No major toxicities
occurred and the treatment was well tolerated.
Median survival from diagnosis was
20 months. This study shows that elderly
Ph patients with ALL\u2014often considered
eligible only for palliative treatment strategies\u2014
may benefit from an imatinibsteroids
protocol, which does not require
chemotherapy nor a long hospitalization,
is feasible, highly active, and associated
with a good quality of lif