Treatment of young patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukaemia using increased dose of imatinib and deintensified chemotherapy before allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

The main outcomes of the Programa Español para Tratamiento de Hemopatías (PETHEMA)-acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL)-Ph-08 trial were described and compared with those of the historical PETHEMA-CSTIBES02 trial. The trials differed in imatinib dose (600 vs. 400 mg/d) and amount of chemotherapy (one vs. two consolidation cycles) before stem cell transplantation (SCT). All patients (n = 29) enrolled in the ALL-Ph-08 trial achieved complete remission (CR) (vs. 90% in CSTIBES02), and SCT was performed in CR in 90% (vs. 78%). The reduction in early death, relapse before SCT and transplant-related mortality observed in the ALL-Ph-08 trial resulted in an improved 2-year event-free survival (63% vs. 37%, P = 0·009).