Objective: To compare the curative effect of imatinib and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HSCT) in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).
Methods: 292 CML patients received imatinib, and 141 patients underwent allo-HSCT. The clinical data of these patients were retrospectively analyzed to compare event- free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) between these two groups of patients in chronic and advanced (including accelerate and blast) phases.
Results: (1) EFS, OS, expected 5- year EFS and OS of imatinib group (278 patients in chronic phase) were all statistically higher than of allo-HSCT group (120 patients in chronic phase) (88.5% vs 70.0%, 93.2% vs 80.0%, 84.0% vs 75.0% and 92.0% vs 79.0%, respectively, all P values < 0.01). (2) EFS and OS of imatinib group (14 patients in accelerate and blast phases) were 42.9% and 42.9%, respectively. Meanwhile EFS and OS of allo-HSCT group (21 patients in accelerate and blast phases) were 47.6% and 57.1%, respectively. There were no significant differences in terms of EFS and OS between the two groups (P values>0.05).
Conclusion: EFS and OS of imatinib group were significantly higher than of allo-HSCT group for CML patients of in chronic phase. Imatinib and allo-HSCT had the similar efficacy for CML patients in accelerate and blast phases.