title: Diagnostic algorithms, monitoring, prognostication, and therapy in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML): a proposal of the Austrian CML platform.
abstract: Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a stem cell disease characterized by the BCR/ABL oncoprotein. The ABL kinase inhibitor imatinib is effective in most patients and considered standard first-line therapy. However, not all patients show a long-lasting response to this drug. In fact, resistance against imatinib has been described and is an emerging clinical problem in CML. For these patients, novel multi-kinase inhibitors such as nilotinib or dasatinib as well as stem cell transplantation, represent alternative treatment options. The decision concerning second-line therapies and selection of drugs is usually based on the presence and type of BCR/ABL mutations, the phase of disease, other disease-related factors as well as patient-related factors including age, co-morbidity, and pharmacologic determinants. The current article provides an overview on diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for patients with treatment-naïve and imatinib-resistant CML, together with proposed algorithms that were discussed and approved by members of the CML platform of the Austrian Society for Hematology and Oncology (OGHO) in 2007 and 2008. The resulting recommendations should assist in diagnosis and prognostication in CML, follow-up and disease-monitoring, patient selection for interventional therapies, and in the preparation and conduct of clinical trials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine I, Division of Haematology & Hemostaseology, Medical University of Vienna, Austria. peter.valent@meduniwien.ac.at
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Valent
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lion
authors.forename: Dominik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sillaber
authors.forename: Hermine
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Agis
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Petzer
authors.forename: Alois
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kalhs
authors.forename: Dietmar
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Geissler
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Greil
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Linkesch
authors.forename: Sonja
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Burgstaller
authors.forename: Josef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thaler
authors.forename: Günther
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gastl
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D001317:Austria; D020000:Decision Support Systems, Clinical; D006801:Humans; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011379:Prognosis