title: Combining nilotinib and imatinib improves the outcome of imatinib-resistant blast phase CML.
abstract: Imatinib resistance is an important hurdle in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), and CML patients with this drug resistance are often given a dismal prognosis. In this case report, an imatinib-refractory blast phase CML patient was treated with a combination of imatinib and nilotinib. A complete hematologic response was achieved within 3 months, the drug combination was well tolerated, and there was a relatively long bone-marrow complete remission. These results suggest that combining imatinib and nilotinib treatment may improve the outcome of imatinib-resistant CML patients in the blast phase. We hypothesize regarding the possible mechanism for the effectiveness of the drug combination by reviewing the recent literature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Hematology, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, China.
authors.forename: Guang-Rong
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Ou
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Jian-Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ji
authors.forename: Ya-Cheng
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Peng-Jun
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Qun
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Shen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001549:Benzamides; D001752:Blast Crisis / Q000188:drug therapy*; D019008:Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D006801:Humans; D000068877:Imatinib Mesylate; D007621:Karyotyping; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D010879:Piperazines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D011743:Pyrimidines / Q000627:therapeutic use*
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D001549:Benzamides; D010879:Piperazines; D011743:Pyrimidines; D000068877:Imatinib Mesylate; C498826:nilotinib