Managing children with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML): recommendations for the management of CML in children and young people up to the age of 18 years

Abstract

Chronic myeloid leukaemia in children and young people is a relatively rare form of leukaemia that shows increased incidence with age and some evidence suggests that the molecular basis differs from that in adults. Significant advances in targeted therapy with the development and use in children of tyrosine kinase inhibitors and the ability to monitor and understand the prognostic significance of minimal residual disease by standardized molecular techniques has shifted the management of this condition from bone marrow transplantation as the main therapeutic modality to individualized treatment for each patient based on achieving specific milestones. The physiological changes occurring during childhood, particularly those affecting growth and development and the long-term use of treatment, pose specific challenges in this age group, which we are only beginning to understand.

Keywords: BCR-ABL1; children; chronic myeloid leukaemia; stem cell transplantation; tyrosine kinase inhibitor.