Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia

The primary treatment options for chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) targeted therapies and bone marrow transplant. The type of treatment you receive will depend on a number of different considerations, such as your overall health and your treatment preferences. This page aims to give you a comprehensive overview of how chronic myeloid leukaemia treatment works in the private health system.

Targeted therapy is the primary treatment for chronic myeloid leukaemia. Targeted therapies use specialised drugs to destroy leukaemia cells by focusing on abnormalities found within cancer cells while avoiding normal, healthy cells.

Common targeted therapy drugs for chronic myeloid leukaemia include:

• Imatinib
• Dasatinib
• Nilotinib
• Ponatinib

These drugs are known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). CML cells contain a genetic mutation called BCR-ABL which make the BCR-ABL protein. This protein signals to CML cells to grow and spread. Tyrosine kinase inhibitor drugs work by targeting and blocking this BCR-ABL protein, stopping the growth and spread of CML cells. They are given orally as a tablet once or twice daily. Individual tyrosine kinase inhibitor drugs work in slightly different ways and, depending on how you respond to treatment, your doctor may recommend switching from one to another to get the best possible result.

Bone marrow transplants, which are also referred to as stem cell transplants, replace cancerous bone marrow with healthy stem cells that help stimulate the development of new, healthy bone marrow. In order to destroy leukaemia-producing bone marrow, you may first receive high doses of chemotherapy before the healthy stem cells are transplanted. An allogenic stem cell transplant is the most common treatment for CML, which uses donor stem cells.