Allogeneic Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia in the Era of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors

Abstract

The introduction of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) has dramatically improved the prognosis of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) patients and, therefore, changed the therapeutic scenario of this disease. Before the advent of the first TKI imatinib, allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloSCT) was the only curative approach for CML, and all patients deemed eligible for transplant were referred to a centre for transplant where possible. Nowadays, with the wide availability of five different TKI, indications to alloSCT have been reduced to only include patients in the advanced phase of CML and those with multiple TKI treatment failures. Nonetheless, even in the TKI era, alloSCT retains its curative potential. Herein, the authors give an overview of the indications to allogeneic transplant for CML and the management of TKI in the pre and post-transplant settings.