Time to tune the treatment of Ph+ ALL

Abstract

In this issue of Blood, Chalandon et al report the results of a prospective randomized study comparing standard vs less-intensive chemotherapy, both combined with imatinib, for patients with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome–positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). They show that the less-intensive therapy reduces early mortality without impairing efficacy, resulting in a significantly higher hematologic complete remission (CR) rate and an equivalent major molecular response (MMolR) rate.