Successful treatment with imatinib mesylate of a CML patient in megakaryoblastic crisis with severe fibrosis

Int J Hematol. 2002 Nov;76(4):349-53. doi: 10.1007/BF02982695.

Abstract

The prognosis of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in blastic crisis (CML-BC) remains extremely poor, and multiagent chemotherapy regimens commonly used to treat acute leukemia offer only short-term benefits. Therefore, the advent of the novel molecularly targeted anticancer agent imatinib mesylate is a breakthrough in CML therapy. We present a CML patient in megakaryoblastic crisis with severe myelofibrosis, who was treated with imatinib at a dosage of 400 mg/day and achieved complete remission together with a marked regression of myelofibrosis after 1 month. The effect of imatinib on the long-term prognosis remains unclear, although the agent is clearly a promising drug for treating CML-BC even in cases of myelofibrosis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Antineoplastic Agents / administration & dosage
  • Benzamides
  • Blast Crisis / drug therapy*
  • Bone Marrow / pathology
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Imatinib Mesylate
  • Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / drug therapy*
  • Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / pathology
  • Megakaryocytes / pathology
  • Piperazines / administration & dosage*
  • Primary Myelofibrosis / drug therapy*
  • Primary Myelofibrosis / etiology
  • Primary Myelofibrosis / pathology
  • Pyrimidines / administration & dosage*

Substances

  • Antineoplastic Agents
  • Benzamides
  • Piperazines
  • Pyrimidines
  • Imatinib Mesylate