Clinical Outcome Following Change of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor (TKI) According to the Detection of an ABL Kinase Mutation

Introduction

Point mutations in the kinase domain of BCR-ABL are the most frequent mechanism of acquired imatinib resistance in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Mutation analysis is recommended to guide the selection of appropriate second line therapy in patients with imatinib failure, since some frequently occurring mutations confer clinical resistance to nilotinib and/or dasatinib. To date, more than 80 point mutations have been described following imatinib exposure, but mutations at 7 sites (G250, Y253, E255, T315, M351, F359, and H396) comprise approximately 60% of mutations reported in large series. We retrospectively analysed the impact of 83 ABL kinase mutations (P-loop mutations = 28, T315I mutation = 12 and other mutations = 43) arising in 65 chronic phase (CP) CML patients with imatinib failure. The aim of this study was to define the clinical characteristics of these patients, and to assess their outcome following introduction of second line agents.

Methods

Between July 2002 and August 2013, 123 CML patients were found to have ABL kinase mutations in our centre. Patients presenting in blast crisis (BC) or accelerated phase (AP), and those who did not require change in therapy (including patients who required imatinib dose escalation) following detection of an ABL kinase mutation were excluded from the analysis. Sixty-five patients in CP who had imatinib failure and detectable ABL kinase mutation, and who required change in therapy were evaluated. Definitions of CML phases, treatment responses and failures were as per definitions of the European LeukaemiaNet. Direct sequencing method was used to detect a range of mutations within the tyrosine kinase domain at the level of ~20% sensitivity and pyrosequencing to detect specific mutations with a sensitivity of ~5%.

Results

Eighty-three ABL kinase mutations were detected in 65 CP patients at the time of imatinib failure with 35% of patients (23 of 65) harbouring P-loop mutations (including M244V), 18% (12 of 65) with T315I mutation and 46% (30 of 65) with other mutations (catalytic domain, imatinib binding site, activation loop and C-terminal). Composite mutations were present in 10 patients (15%), with 2 patients harbouring both P-loop and T315I mutations. Median time on imatinib therapy was 29.5 months (range, 2-144 months). At the time of mutation detection, 20% of patients (13 of 65) were in CCyR, 54% (35 of 65) in CP, 17% (11 of 65) in AP and 9% (6 of 65) had progressed to BC. Median time from CML diagnosis to mutation detection was 21 months for patients with T315I mutation, 45.5 months for P-loop mutations and 48 months for other mutations. Following mutation detection, patients in CP and AP were treated on second-line agents with dasatinib, nilotinib, bosutinib or ponatinib (based on sensitivity of ABL kinase mutants to ABL kinase inhibitors), and those in BC were treated with chemotherapy +/- TKI. Thirteen patients (20%) underwent allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) for disease control (P-loop = 7, T315I = 5, other = 1).

Following the change in TKI therapy, the best response was CMR or MMR in 54% of patients (35 of 65), CCyR in 12% (8 of 65), MCyR in 3% (2 of 65) and CHR in 26% (17 of 65). 5% (3 of 65) progressed to BC. In those who only achieved CHR, MCyR or developed progressive disease despite change in TKI, 6 out of 22 patients were found to have additional mutations during their treatment course, including 5 patients with re-emergence of their original mutation. After a median follow-up of 60 months (range, 3-137 months) from detection of mutation, 12 of the 65 patients (18%) have died, including 6 of 23 (26%) with P-loop mutations, 3 of 12 (25%) with T315I mutation, and 3 of 30 (10%) with other mutations. One patient who died had composite P-loop and T315I mutations. Median overall survival was 250 months for patients harbouring P-loop mutations (P=0.37) and not reached for T315I and other mutations.

Conclusion

With longer follow-up and the availability of second and third generation TKIs, we have demonstrated that most clinically relevant ABL kinase mutations respond to change in TKI therapy following imatinib failure, with the majority of patients achieving durable cytogenetic and molecular response. This study emphasizes the importance of early detection and characterization of ABL kinase mutations in imatinib resistant patients in order to identify those patients who may benefit from alternative TKI therapy or stem cell transplantation.