Imatinib plus Peginterferon Alfa-2a in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

In this study, adding pegylated interferon alfa-2a to imatinib therapy for chronic myeloid leukemia resulted in a greater reduction in the number of cells bearing BCR-ABL in a higher fraction of patients than did imatinib alone. However, pegylated interferon alfa-2a also has toxic effects. Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is characterized by translocation t(9;22)(q34;q11) — which causes the Philadelphia chromosome — on which a BCR-ABL fusion gene codes for a protein with constitutive tyrosine kinase activity. 1 – 3 Imatinib, a rationally designed tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has shown activity against leukemic cells in vitro and in vivo. 4 , 5 On the basis of the results of the large phase 3 International Randomized Study of Interferon and STI571 (IRIS; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00006343), imatinib is recommended as first-line therapy. 6 , 7 However, in some patients, the response to imatinib is not optimal and the risk of blast crisis is increased. 8 The . . .