Imatinib Mesylate Versus Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Patients with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia.

PURPOSE: To compare the relative merits of imatinib and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).

MATERIALS AND

METHODS

This cohort study was designed to compare the outcomes of imatinib (n=292) versus allo-HSCT (n=141) for CML, the clinical data of these patients being retrospectively analyzed so as to compare the event free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) between these two groups with patients in the chronic phase (CP) and advanced phases, including accelerate (AP) and blast phases (BP).

RESULTS

(1) Patients treated with imatinib (278 in the CP) demonstrated superior EFS, OS, 5-year EFS and 5-year OS rates of 88.5% versus 70.0% (P<0.05), 93.2% versus 80.0% (P<0.05), 84% versus 75.0% (P<0.05) and 92% versus 79.0% (P<0.05), respectively, to those treated with allo-HSCT (120 patients in the CP). (2) Both treatments resulted in similar survival, with EFS and OS rates of 42.9% versus 47.6% (P>0.05), 42.9% versus 57.1% (P>0.05), respectively, for imatinib (14 patients in the AP and BP) and allo-HSCT (21 patients in the AP and BP).

CONCLUSIONS

Imatinib confers signi cant survival advantage (EFS and OS) for CML patients with CP compared with allo-HSCT treatment. However, the outcomes are equally good with both treatments in AP and BP patients.