Selection pressure exerted by imatinib therapy leads to disparate outcomes of imatinib discontinuation trials

Chronic myeloid leukemia is successfully managed by imatinib therapy, but the question remains whether treatment must be administered indefinitely. Imatinib discontinuation trials have led to two distinct outcomes: about 60% of patients experienced disease relapse within 6 months of treatment cessation, while the remaining 40% remained disease-free throughout the duration of follow-up. We aimed to investigate the mechanisms underlying these disparate clinical outcomes.