Stopping Drug Therapy for CML: EURO-SKI Results

European Stop TKI Study (EURO-SKI), show that stopping TKI therapy is feasible and that about half of patients remain free from relapse after 2 years of follow-up.
A further analysis of patients who were taking imatinib suggests that stopping imatinib after 5.8 years is associated with a higher likelihood of molecular relapse-free survival.
The results were presented here at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2016 Annual Meeting (abstract 787).
Current guidelines recommend that most patients who achieve remission with TKI therapy continue taking the drugs indefinitely, yet it is unclear whether continued therapy is necessary for all patients, according to an ASH news release.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/872803