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Treatment-free remission is achievable in approximately half of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia who attain a sustained, deep molecular response with tyrosine-kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy. We aimed to identify potential predictors of future achievement of stable MR4.5, defined as a sustained 4.5-log reduction in BCR-ABL1 transcripts for a minimum of 2 years, in 593 patients treated with imatinib as first-line TKI therapy. In multivariable analyses of patient and disease variables including baseline blood counts, disease phase, additional cytogenetic abnormalities, prior therapy, depth and rapidity of molecular response, the only predictor for future achievement of stable MR4.5 was molecular response at 6 months. In this study, patients failing to attain a molecular response of BCR-ABL1≤ 0.16%IS after 6 months of imatinib therapy were unlikely to subsequently achieve stable MR4.5 with imatinib. Our data suggest that achievement of BCR-ABL1≤ 0.16%IS at 6 months is predictive of future stable MR4.5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the study that investigates the effectiveness of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in the treatment of blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN) in Canada. The topics discussed include the symptoms associated with the BPDCN, the results of the randomized controlled trial that evaluates the efficacy of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in treating BPDCN, and the patients overall survival.

A response from the author of the article "Pregnancy: Part of life in chronic myelogenous leukemia" in the previous issue is presented.