Chronic myeloid leukemia, quality of life priority for 50% patients

2023-06-26 13:16:07

Effective and safe, tolerated as much as possible so as to live long, but also well. This is the sketch of the ideal drug for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) – a blood cancer with which almost 9,000 Italians live – outlined by a survey whose results were discussed today in Milan during a meeting promoted by the Swiss Novartis for announce the reimbursement in our country of asciminib (Scemblix*). The drug, a new weapon to be used in the third line against CML, has an innovative mechanism of action and inaugurates the therapeutic family of Stamp inhibitors.

“Treatment is the first thought in the minds of patients with CML – underlines Fabrizio Pane, full professor at the Federico II University of Naples, director of the UOC Hematology and Bone marrow Transplants Aou Federico II of Naples – According to the data emerging from the Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Survey on Unmet Needs (Cml Sun), presented at the recent congress of the European Hematology Association, it is precisely the therapies that constitute the main source of concern for patients: from the loss of effectiveness (58%) to the long-term consequences on one’s body (54%), up to the impact of side effects on general health (46%).Furthermore”, from the survey which involved 11 countries including Italy “it emerges clearly – the specialist remarks – that treatments should not only contribute to blocking or slowing down progression of the disease, but also allow the maintenance or improvement of a good quality of life.In particular, the latter aspect is strongly felt by patients in the second and third line of treatment, with about 50% considering it the first objective to be achieved with therapy”.