Dr. Sweet on the Awareness and Mitigation of AEs Associated With Ponatinib in CML

Kendra Sweet, MD, an assistant member of the Department of Malignant Hematology at Moffitt Cancer Center, as well as an assistant professor in the Department of Oncologic Sciences at University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, discusses efforts made to mitigate toxicities associated with ponatinib (Iclusig) in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).

Ponatinib was the subject of controversy when it was temporarily pulled from the market due to significant arterial occlusive events observed in patients who were receiving treatment in the PACE trial, according to Sweet. Although this warranted further investigation of the agent, Sweet notes that much has been learned in the years following the trial. If what is currently known about the drug and its adverse effects (AEs) were known during the course of the PACE trial, Sweet says the results may have been different.

After utilizing ponatinib in practice over the past 7 years, Sweet shares that she has not observed the level of toxicities that had been reported in the trial; this is likely due to more widespread knowledge of these AEs and efforts are being made to mitigate these toxicities up front. Some techniques to reduce the risk of these AEs include the utilization of cardioprotective measures and referring patients to a cardiologist up front, Sweet concludes.