The presence of additional cytogenetic aberrations in chronic myeloid leukemia cells at the time of diagnosis or their appearance on tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy predicts the imatinib treatment failure

Currently used treatment of CML dramatically improved the prognosis of disease. However, additional chromosome aberrations (ACA/Ph+) are still one of the adverse prognostic factors. evaluation of the impact of ACA/Ph+ appearance during disease outcome on the response to treatment. consisted of 203 patients. The median time of follow-up was 72 months. ACA/Ph+ was found in 53 patients. patients were divided into four groups: standard risk, intermediate, high and very high risk. When ACA/Ph+ presence was documented at diagnosis time the optimal response was observed in 41.2%, 25%, and 0% of pts with intermediate, high and very high risk, respectively. If ACA/Ph+ were detected during imatinib treatment the optimal response was in 4.8% of patients. The risk of blastic transformation for patients with standard risk, intermediate, high and very high risk was 2.7%, 18.4%, 20% and 50%, respectively. the presence of ACA/Ph+ at diagnosis time or their appearance on therapy seems to be clinically relevant not only in terms of the risk of blastic transformation but also in terms of the treatment failure. Gathering patients with various karyotypes and their responses to treatment would allow to set better guidelines and predictions. •Splenomegaly is more frequently observed in patients with ACA/Ph+.•Stratification into cytogenetic risk groups predict the probability of patient's survival.•Percentage of blasts in blood increases in very high and high-risk group.•Very high and high-risk group is associated with a higher probability of progression.