Dr. Shah on Investigational Agents in CML

Neil Shah, MD, PhD, professor, Department of Medicine (Hematology/Oncology), University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Program Leader, Hematopoietic Malignancies Program, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses investigational agents in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).

Two of the more mature investigational agents in CML are ABL001, also known as asciminib, and PF-114; both of these agents have promise. PF-114 is slightly more traditional in its composition and binds where the other TKIs bind, explains Shah, while ABL001 is more of a novel agent. Nonetheless, if both agents show a clean safety profile, they are likely to progress in development.

As it stands, patients have access to 4 frontline treatment options. The majority of patients will be able to identify 1 agent that is effective and tolerable, says Shah, and as a result, the prognosis of the disease is very positive. The majority of patients are more likely to die from causes completely unrelated to CML and its therapies rather than the disease itself, he concludes.