Dr. Radich on Treatment Discontinuation in CML Off Trial

Jerald P. Radich, MD, clinical research division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, discusses treatment discontinuation off trial for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).

About 50% of patients who reach a deep molecular response for several years are able to discontinue therapy and stay free of disease for about 2 to 3 years, says Radich.

It is strongly recommended that this is done solely on a clinical trial, says Radich, but the NCCN recognizes that physicians may attempt to do this off of a clinical trial, so guidelines have been put into place for physicians to follow. Radich explains that a patient has to be on drug for at least 2 years and have a documented deep response for more than 2 years; they cannot show up in the clinic one day with a good partial complete response.

After discontinuation, patients must be monitored every month for 6 months. Because of all these criteria, only a small percentage of patients should attempt to be discontinued off a clinical trial, concludes Radich.