Key clinical point: In a large cohort of patients with newly diagnosed chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML-CP) receiving frontline imatinib therapy, adolescents showed adverse disease features and shorter failure-free survival (FFS) compared with children, indicating distinct disease characteristics and outcomes between these pediatric groups.
Major finding: Adolescents vs. children presented with significantly higher white blood cell count ( P = .033), basophil percentage in peripheral blood ( P = .002), and prevalence of splenomegaly ( P = .004). Children had a longer FFS vs. adolescents (hazard ratio, 2.36; P = .015).
Study details: Findings are from a retrospective analysis of 982 newly diagnosed patients with CML-CP, including 135 children, 189 adolescents, and 658 adults, who received imatinib as the first-line treatment within 6 months of diagnosis.
Disclosures: This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. No author disclosures were reported.
Source: Dou X et al. Ann Hematol. 2021 Jun 5. doi: 10.1007/s00277-021-04544-6 .