Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia: 8 years’ experience from a tertiary care center in India

• Published in: South Asian Journal of Cancer 2016-10, Vol.5 (4), p.176-178
• Main Authors: Danthala, Madhav, Gundeti, Sadashivudu, Maddali, Laxmi Srinivas, Pillai, Ashok, Puligundla, Krishna Chaitanya, Adusumilli, Raja Praveen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia; chemotherapy; LEUKEMIA : Original Article; LEUKEMIA: Original; overall survival; Philadelphia chromosome
• ISSN: 2278-330X; 2278-4306
• DOI: 10.4103/2278-330X.195336

Abstract Introduction: The Philadelphia chromosome (Ph) is the most common cytogenetic abnormality associated with adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) occurring in 20% to 40% of patients. It is also detected in 2% to 5% of children with ALL. Historically, patients with Ph-positive ALL carried a dismal prognosis, with poor response to most chemotherapy combinations, short remission durations, and long-term disease-free survival rates of 10% to 20%. The advent of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) has revolutionized therapy of Ph-positive ALL. Materials and Methods: This retrospective and descriptive single center study was carried out based on data retrieved of 508 patients treated for ALL from 2007 to 2014. Of these thirty patients were Ph-positive ALL and were available for analysis, and these patients were included in the study. Ph-positive ALL was defined as ALL carrying the t(9;22) translocation on standard karyotype and/or fluorescent in situ hybridization analysis and/or positivity for BCR-ABL fusion transcript detection by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RQ-PCR) analysis. Patients were treated with combination chemotherapy and oral TKIs and responses were classified as either CR defined by the absence of circulating blasts and