Moderator of the session, Emily K. Curran, MD, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center, in Ohio, said the data presented by Dr. Short and colleagues demonstrated very impressive event-free and overall survival rates, especially for a disease that has historically had poor outcomes.
Emily K. Curran, MD
“Particularly interesting is that these excellent outcomes were obtained mostly without the need for allogeneic stem cell transplant, although longer follow-up is needed to see if these remissions are maintained long term,” Dr. Curran told The ASCO Post. “Whether this approach will be equivalent to, or perhaps even superior to, regimens utilizing ponatinib in combination with intensive chemotherapy backbones (such as ponatinib plus hyperCVAD [cyclophosphamide, vincristine, doxorubicin, dexamethasone]) is still unknown.”
“Further, the optimal duration of ponatinib maintenance needs to be further investigated,” Dr. Curran continued. “However, these results build upon the data by Foà and colleagues, supporting a ‘chemotherapy-free’ approach for Philadelphia chromosome–positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia.”1
DISCLOSURE: Dr. Curran has served as a consultant or advisor to Servier, Tempus, Pfizer, Kite, Incyte, and Amgen; has received honoraria from Servier; and has participated in expert panels guidelines for Servier.
REFERENCE
1. Foà R, Bassan R, Vitale A, et al: Dasatinib-blinatumomab for Ph-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia in adults. N Engl J Med 383:1613-1623, 2020.
