Current perspectives on the therapeutic aspects of chronic myelogenous leukemia.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative disorder arising from the malignant transformation of normal myeloid cells. Its genetic hallmark is the presence of Philadelphia chromosome translocation which results in fusion of the breakpoint cluster region and abelson genes.

AREAS COVERED: The study aims to evaluate the current therapeutic practices used through tyrosine kinase inhibitors, as well as the novel methods underlined by nucleotide- and mAb-based therapies. It is followed by a thorough review on recent research developments for each of the anti-CML-based therapeutic approaches, their drawbacks and latest research especially to overcome drug resistance problems. The detailed analysis of specific granted patents highlighting different claims and downstream applications is also presented.

EXPERT OPINION: In the current scenario, the targeted therapy based on small molecules, mAbs, nucleic acid and nanoparticles have been formulated but optimization and improvement of the approaches are required to overcome the risks and obstacles in anti-CML-based therapy. The current research is paving the way for combinatorial approaches to address the problems of efficacy, toxicity and drug resistance.