Molecular monitoring and minimal residual disease in the management of chronic myelogenous leukemia

The introduction of BCR-ABL1 tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in 2001 for treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) marked a paradigm shift in management of the disease. With that advance, CML has been largely managed as a chronic condition, with daily medication and frequent monitoring. Optimizing monitoring methods and identifying factors associated with response and long-term outcomes has thus been a major clinical research focus. Given the improved understanding of surveillance techniques in CML and the advent of several recently approved second- and third-generation TKIs, there have been recent updates to clinical practice guidelines.

Click on the PDF icon at the top of this introduction to read the full article.