Results from the Korean Imatinib Discontinuation Study (KIDS): Updated Data with 15-Month Median Follow up

Background Approximately 50% of CP CML patients achieve undetectable molecular residual disease (UMRD) at 6-7 years of first-line imatinib (IM) therapy. Although imatinib therapy is effective in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients and a substantial portion of patients achieve UMRD with prolonged IM therapy, up to 10^7 leukemic cells can still be present in the absence of detectable BCR-ABL1 in RQ-PCR assay due to the sensitivity limit of current RQ-PCR technology. The recent several reports to assess whether IM can be discontinued in CML patients have shown that IM discontinuation can be employed based on clinical study in patients who had enough IM therapy and UMRD durations prior to IM discontinuation. In our previous report, the 12-month probability of sustained UMRD of 48 patients was 80.8% (78.4% in 37 patients with at least 12 months follow-up), a higher rate than that reported by the ‘STIM’ (Stop Imatinib) trial. To identify predictors for safer, successful IM discontinuation and to explore additional contributing factors for sustained molecular responses (MRs), this multicenter prospective Korean Imatinib Discontinuation Study (KIDS) is on-going.

Methods Patients who were treated with IM for more than 3 years and whose BCR-ABL1 was undetectable in RQ-PCR for at least 2 years were enrolled in this study. After discontinuation, molecular response was monitored using RQ-PCR assay every month up to 6 month follow-up, every 2 months up to 12 month follow-up, and every 3 months thereafter. In case of relapse, defined as loss of MMR on 2 consecutive assessments, IM therapy was re-introduced and molecular response after resumption was observed every month using RQ-PCR. Our primary objectives were to evaluate the probability of persistent UMRD at 12 month follow-up after discontinuation, and to measure the duration of persistent UMRD after discontinuation. The secondary objective was to evaluate the probability of major molecular response (MMR) loss and the time taken to lose MMR after discontinuation.

Results Of the 148 patients who were screened for KIDS, 30 patients have failed because of positive result of RQ-PCR tested in the central laboratory (N= 21, 70%), failure to meet inclusion criteria (N=7, 23%) and informed consents withdrawal (N=2, 7%).

As of data cut-off date of 2 July 2014, a total of 115 patients (66 females, 49 males) who were diagnosed between 20 Mar 1996 and 12 Jul 2012 were enrolled on KIDS, with a median age of 44 years (range, 19 – 77), the percentages of patients with low, intermediate and high Sokal risk scores were 35%, 25% and 17%, respectively with unknown Sokal risk scores in 23%. And the median time on IM therapy and the median duration of sustained UMRD prior to discontinuation were 84 months (range, 32 – 149) and 44 months (range, 22 – 131), respectively.

With a median follow-up of 15 months (range, 0.2 – 45.4), 28 patients loss MMR and the probability of sustained MMR was 73.5 ± 4.3%. The 12-month probability of sustained MMR was 67.0 ± 5.2%.

Among 21 patients who lost UMRD without confirmed MMR loss, 10 spontaneously re-achieved UMRD, 2 fluctuated BCR-ABL1 transcript under MMR and 9 continuously increase BCR-ABL1 transcript. All of 28 patients who confirmed MMR loss were re-treated with IM for a median of 9.9 months (range, 0.7 – 34.2 months), 22 patients re-achieved MMR at a median of 4.1 months (range, 0.5 - 6.5 months) after resuming IM therapy and 14 of these patients re-achieved UMRD at a median of 6.7 months (range, 3.3 - 13.3 months). One patient, who lost MMR at 7.6 months after KIDS enrollment, resuming IM for 26.7 months and sustained UMRD for 23.9 months, currently discontinues IM therapy (KIDS2) with the follow up of 6.5 months. Univariate analysis showed that IM duration and UMRD duration before treatment discontinuation had a higher 12-month probability of sustained MMR.

Conclusions Based on results, IM discontinuation with resuming after MMR loss can be applied safely. In particular, the rate of screening failure due to positive result of RQ-PCR tested in the central laboratory implied that a strict PCR sensitivity criterion is important for safer, successful IM discontinuation. Overall, both UMRD and IM duration on treatment were the most important predictors for successful IM-off. Further studies on underlying mechanisms about immunological control, minimal residual leukemia and stem cell biology during TKI-off study should be conducted.