Flumatinib efficacy and safety in de novo Ph+ ALL

Results from the multicenter, retrospective study evaluating flumatinib, a China-developed second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI), in Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL) were recently published in Clinical Lymphoma Myeloma and Leukemia by Zhang et al.

Key data: Complete remission (CR) and CR with minimal residual disease negativity detected by multiparameter flow cytometry were achieved in 96.9% (63/65) and 58.5% (38/65) of patients postinduction, respectively. At 24 months, overall survival (OS) was 87.4% and event-free survival (EFS) was 62.7%. Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (allo-HSCT) improved EFS (p < 0.0001), with a trend towards improved OS (p = 0.0503). Common hematologic adverse events (AEs) included neutropenia (93.8%) and thrombocytopenia (76.9%); severe nonhematologic AEs were rare. T315I and V299M mutations were key drivers of relapse.

Key learning: Flumatinib demonstrated efficacy and a tolerable safety profile in patients with de novo Ph+ ALL that was comparable to other second-generation TKIs.