Doctors are learning more about CML, ways to prevent it, the best way to treat it, and how to give the best care to people diagnosed with this disease. The following research areas may comprise new alternatives for patients with the help of clinical trials. Always talk with the doctor about the best diagnostic and treatment options for you.
- Improving current treatments- Research which focuses on increasing the effectiveness of CML treatments are:
- Determining if people with CML can safely stop taking TKIs after a molecular remission
- Developing new methods of bone marrow/stem cell transplantation aimed at decreasing the side effects
- Combining imatinib with other drugs
- Creating vaccines against BCR-ABL
- Looking for unexpected long-term side effects
- Evaluating new TKIs for CML that does not respond to imatinib
- Treatment to target remaining CML cells- Several laboratory studies are focused on possible treatments that may help destroy the few remaining CML cells in most patients who have received TKIs so they can stop medical treatment.
Palliative care
Clinical trials are going on to find more acceptable ways of lessening symptoms and side effects of current cancer treatments to improve comfort and quality of life during treatment.
