British Medical Journal Documents Successful Use of Iclusig in Combination Therapy

And still more on the value of Iclusig...in addition to colon cancer treatment and five other indications under evaluation. 

Headline: Haematological complete remission by ponatinib and bortezomib in a patient with relapsed, Ph+ pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

Punchline:  Our experience with a single patient suggests the feasibility of combined targeted therapy with ponatinib and bortezomib. This novel treatment approach achieved clinical remission with a manageable toxicity profile. 

Please note: all credit for the due diligence goes to Kipster210, he found this the day it was published (yesterday) and posted on Ihub.  Thank you Kipster!  The full abstract, as published yesterday in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) follows below.   

BMJ Case Reports 2014; doi:10.1136/bcr-2014-203894 

CASE REPORT 

Haematological complete remission by ponatinib and bortezomib in a patient with relapsed, Ph+ pre-B acute lymphoblastic leukaemia 

Sara Robinson1, Yair Levy2, Christopher Maisel1, Alex W Tong2 

+ Author Affiliations 

1Department of Internal Medicine, Baylor University Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA 

2Innovative Clinical Trials Center, Baylor Sammons Cancer Center, Dallas, Texas, USA 

Correspondence to - Dr Yair Levy, Moshe.Levy@baylorhealth.edu 

Accepted 17 March 2014 

Published 12 April 2014 

Summary 

A 74-year-old man was previously diagnosed with BCR-ABL1-positive pre-B cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (pre-B ALL) based on bone marrow cytology, flow cytometry, cytogenetics and fluorescent in situ hybridisation findings. Following a highly complicated hospital course, the patient achieved cytogenetic remission by consolidated chemotherapy and the tyrosine kinase inhibitor dasatinib. He subsequently presented with relapsed pre-B ALL after 3 years in remission. In consideration of his challenging clinical history, he was started on concurrent ponatinib (45 mg daily) and bortezomib (1.3 mg/m2 intravenous weekly). The major molecular response was achieved (<0.0893% BCR-ABL1 transcripts) after 3 months. Bone marrow now demonstrates a BCR-ABL1-negative, complete cytogenetic response. The patient continues to do well with mild thrombocytopenia and improved anaemia on bortezomib and 30 mg daily ponatinib. Our experience with a single patient suggests the feasibility of combined targeted therapy with ponatinib and bortezomib. This novel treatment approach achieved clinical remission with a manageable toxicity profile.