Advancements in Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors Therapy: Role of Imatinib, the First Targeted Treatment for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

The therapeutic landscape of CML has rapidly evolved since the introduction of imatinib into clinical practice and patients are expected to have a near normal life expectancy. In the era of second or third-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), a personalized treatment strategy for individual patients considering comorbidities, tolerability, disease phase and goals of therapy has become the standard of care. Though newer TKIs have a definite role in the treatment of resistant disease, despite achieving quicker and deeper molecular responses no survival improvement is obtained in the front-line setting compared to imatinib. This chapter review is focused on the role of imatinib, the first targeted treatment for CML in the era of novel TKI therapy.