Asciminib in chronic myeloid leukemia.

Abstract

Despite the fact that, in the last years, life expectancy of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients has reached that of the normal population, a significant proportion of CML patients is likely to fail treatment with first- or second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs). Failure to first-line treatment is commonly due to molecular resistance or unbearable toxicity. New specific compounds are tested in this setting to fulfill this unmet clinical need in CML; of these, asciminib has shown efficacy based on allosteric inhibition which allows to overcome resistance and off-target toxicity. This review aims to cover how asciminib will change the therapeutic scenario of CML, highlighting its mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, efficacy and toxicity. Asciminib will be a possible option as third-line therapy for patients carrying resistant mutations, such as T315I, and/or not eligible for treatment with other TKIs.