Stopping Leukemia Treatment: Can It Work Long-Term?

This trial is testing whether people with chronic myeloid leukemia who have had excellent responses to treatment—either imatinib, nilotinib, or dasatinib—can safely stop taking their medication without the cancer coming back. Researchers will closely monitor your blood work to catch any early signs of cancer returning, so the medication can be restarted quickly if needed. The goal is to understand whether long-term, successful treatment might allow some patients to live medication-free while staying healthy.

For people with chronic myeloid leukemia, taking daily medication for years or decades can affect quality of life and cause side effects. This study exists because doctors want to know whether patients whose cancer is in very deep remission—staying controlled for many years—might be able to stop the medication safely, while keeping close watch for any signs of the cancer returning.