Reaching Ph+ CML Treatment Goals
Treatment that blocks the abnormal growth signal can have a dramatic effect on CML. Tests that examine the blood, the bone marrow, and levels of abnormal protein can show how well treatment is controlling CML.
- The first treatment goal is getting the blood back to its normal mixture of cells. This improvement is called a "hematologic response"
- The second treatment goal is reducing or eliminating the abnormal bone marrow cells that have the Ph chromosome. This improvement is called a "cytogenetic response"
- A third way to measure response to treatment is to check to see if any cells are still producing the BCR-ABL protein
Terms Used to Describe Improvements in CML
Hematologic
Response
- Improvement in the
number of healthy
cells in the blood - In a complete
hematologic
response (CHR),
white blood cell
and platelet counts
are within the
normal range
Cytogenetic
Response
- A reduction in the
number of cells in
the bone marrow
that have the Ph
chromosome - In a partial
cytogenetic
response, abnormal
cells are greatly
reduced, but not
completely gone - In a complete
cytogenetic
response (CCR),
abnormal cells with
the Ph chromosome
are undetectable
Molecular
Response
- The abnormal
protein BCR-ABL
is greatly decreased
(major molecular
response) or
undetectable
(complete molecular
response)
