The following is a summary of “Real-world toxicity and efficacy of asciminib in heavily pretreated patients with chronic myeloid leukemia,” published in the November 2024 issue of Hematology by Ishii et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of asciminib in heavily pretreated patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).  

They evaluated 21 patients with CML treated with asciminib, with a median age of 63 years (range 25–82). About 14 patients (67%) had received at least 3 prior TKIs, and asciminib was switched due to intolerance in 14 patients (67%) and failure in 7 patients (33%). The median duration of asciminib exposure was 237 days. 

The results showed that with a median follow-up of 273 days, 3 patients (14%) discontinued asciminib due to failure and 2 (10%) due to intolerance. Among 20 evaluable patients, the molecular response rates with a 2-log reduction, major molecular response, and 4-log reduction were 80%, 60%, and 15%, respectively. The 6-month event-free survival (EFS) rate was 74.7%. Common adverse events (AEs) included liver dysfunction (29%), elevated amylase (14%), and renal dysfunction (10%). No cardiovascular events occurred, and cross-intolerance to asciminib was seen in 6 patients (29%). 

They concluded that asciminib was effective and well-tolerated in heavily pretreated patients with CML in real-world settings.  

Source: link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12185-024-03873-2