Short communication A report of early cytogenetic response to imatinib in two patients with chronic myeloid leukemia at accelerated phase and carrying the e19a2 BCR-ABL transcript

The development of imatinib is a milestone in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), and its therapeutic effect has been extensively investigated in CML patients carrying M-bcr and m-bcr BCR/ABL fusion transcripts. However, our knowledge about its therapeutic effect on CML patients with rare BCR/ABL fusion transcripts e19a2(u-bcr) remains sparse. Here, we report on two CML patients with e19a2 transcripts who rapidly progressed into the accelerated phase, further confirming the possibility that 19a2 might be associated with an unfavorable prognosis in CML. Moreover, these patients showed early response to imatinib treatment. Our study highlights the clinical potential of imatinib for this patient subgroup. 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.