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BACKGROUND Imatinib, a selective BCR-ABL1 kinase inhibitor, improved the prognosis for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). We conducted efficacy and safety analyses on the basis of more than 10 years of follow-up in patients with CML who were treated with imatinib as initial therapy. METHODS In this open-label, multicenter trial with crossover design, we randomly assigned patients with newly diagnosed CML in the chronic phase to receive either imatinib or interferon alfa plus cytarabine. Long-term analyses included overall survival, response to treatment, and serious adverse events. RESULTS The median follow-up was 10.9 years. Given the high rate of crossover among patients who had been randomly assigned to receive interferon alfa plus cytarabine (65.6%) and the short duration of therapy before crossover in these patients (median, 0.8 years), the current analyses focused on patients who had been randomly assigned to receive imatinib. Among the patients in the imatinib group, the estimated overall survival rate at 10 years was 83.3%. Approximately half the patients (48.3%) who had been randomly assigned to imatinib completed study treatment with imatinib, and 82.8% had a complete cytogenetic response. Serious adverse events that were considered by the investigators to be related to imatinib were uncommon and most frequently occurred during the first year of treatment. CONCLUSIONS Almost 11 years of follow-up showed that the efficacy of imatinib persisted over time and that long-term administration of imatinib was not associated with unacceptable cumulative or late toxic effects. (Funded by Novartis Pharmaceuticals; IRIS ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT00006343 and NCT00333840.)

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Nilotinib, an orally bioavailable, selective Bcr-Abl tyrosine kinase inhibitor, is 30-fold more potent than imatinib in preclinical models, and overcomes most imatinib resistant BCR-ABL mutations. In this phase 2 open-label study, 400 mg nilotinib was administered orally twice daily to 280 patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph ؉ ) chronic myeloid leukemia in chronic phase (CML-CP) after imatinib failure or intolerance. Patients had at least 6 months of followup and were evaluated for hematologic and cytogenetic responses, as well as for safety and overall survival. At 6 months, the rate of major cytogenetic response (Ph < 35%) was 48%: complete (Ph ‫؍‬ 0%) in 31%, and partial (Ph ‫؍‬ 1%-35%) in 16%. The estimated survival at 12 months was 95%. Nilotinib was effective in patients harboring BCR-ABL mutations associated with imatinib resistance (except T315I), and also in patients with a resistance mechanism independent of BCR-ABL mutations. Adverse events were mostly mild to moderate, and there was minimal cross-intolerance with imatinib. Grades 3 to 4 neutropenia and thrombocytopenia were observed in 29% of patients; pleural or pericardial effusions were observed in 1% (none were severe). In summary, nilotinib is highly active and safe in patients with CML-CP after imatinib failure or intolerance. This clinical trial is registered at http://clinicaltrials.gov as ID no. NCT00109707. (Blood. 2007;110: [3540][3541][3542][3543][3544][3545][3546]