Successful management of a pregnant patient with chronic myeloid leukemia receiving standard dose imatinib

BACKGROUND/AIM: As approximately 10% of individuals developing chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) are females aged 20-44 years, a considerable number will consider a planned pregnancy if disease is well controlled by pharmacological treatment. The management of these young patients during pregnancy represents a therapeutic dilemma due to the potential teratogen effects of several tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) and is a matter of continuous debate. Indeed, despite the existence of several studies, there is currently no consensus on how to manage different pregnancy situations in subjects with CML. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We describe a female patient diagnosed with Ph-positive CML one month after her first delivery who achieved excellent hematological, cytogenetic and molecular responses while on imatinib mesylate (IM) treatment. RESULTS: The excellent responses allowed the patient to suspend TKI treatment in order to plan a second pregnancy. Despite IM discontinuation, stringent molecular monitoring of her BCR-ABL1/ABL1 levels allowed the safe delivery of the child and, while the patient eventually developed a molecular relapse after four years of treatment discontinuation, upon restarting IM she quickly regained a deep molecular response that is still ongoing. CONCLUSION: Our case report demonstrates that, if the pregnancy is properly planned in CML patients, it can result in excellent management of the clinical therapeutic option for the benefit of both mother and child.