The JAK inhibitor ruxolitinib could improve the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), a European conference has been told.
A phase 2 trial including the drug alongside standard treatment found an increase in the proportion of patients with a deep molecular response to treatment, the conference heard.
The SWOG S1712 trial, led by the Moffit Cancer Center, Tampa, Florida, was reported to a conference on CML in Prague, Czech Republic, organised by the European School of Haematology.
Some 75 patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukaemia (CP-CML) took part in the nationwide, randomised trial, with ruxolitinib added to standard tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) treatment. The researchers believed, from preclinical studies, that the new drug would sensitise leukaemia stem cells to TKIs.
After 12 months, 46% of patients on the new combined treatment showed a deep molecular response, compared with 26% receiving only TKIs. After two years, the proportion of patients who were able to discontinue treatment was 29% for those receiving ruxolitinib and TKIs, compared with 11% receiving only TKIs.
The researchers report similar levels of adverse effects in both groups of patients.
Researcher Dr Kendra Sweet said: “Treatment free remission has become a common therapeutic goal for patients with CP-CML. In spite of this, only approximately 40 to 50% of CP-CML patients achieve molecular responses that are deep enough to qualify them for an attempt to discontinue TKI therapy.
“In this study the addition of ruxolitinib to TKIs resulted in significantly more patients with durable, deep molecular responses. Ultimately, this could lead to more patients successfully discontinuing treatment, which has been shown to significantly reduce healthcare costs and improve health-related quality of life.”
Source:
Sweet KL, Othus M, Tantravahi SK, Radich JP, Thompson J, Mendler JH, Boddy CS, Kumar P, Atallah E, Perepu U, Pinilla-Ibarz J, Moseley A, Erba HP (2024) “A randomized trial of the addition of ruxolitinib to BCR::ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) with molecular evidence of disease (SWOG trial S1712).” Presented at ESH-iCMLf 26th Annual John Goldman Conference on Chronic Myeloid Leukemia: Biology and Therapy, 27 September 2024.
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