- Jabbour, Elias;
- Apperley, Jane;
- Cortes, Jorge;
- Rea, Delphine;
- Deininger, Michael;
- Abruzzese, Elisabetta;
- Chuah, Charles;
- DeAngelo, Daniel;
- Hochhaus, Andreas;
- Lipton, Jeffrey;
- Mauro, Michael;
- Nicolini, Franck;
- Pinilla-Ibarz, Javier;
- Rosti, Gianantonio;
- Rousselot, Philippe;
- Talpaz, Moshe;
- Vorog, Alexander;
- Ren, Xiaowei;
- Kantarjian, Hagop;
- Shah, Neil Pravin
Ponatinib, the only approved all known-BCR::ABL1 inhibitor, is a third-generation tyrosine-kinase inhibitor (TKI) designed to inhibit BCR::ABL1 with or without any single resistance mutation, including T315I, and induced robust and durable responses at 45 mg/day in patients with CP-CML resistant to second-generation TKIs in the PACE trial. However, cardiovascular toxicities, including arterial occlusive events (AOEs), have emerged as treatment-related AEs within this class of TKIs. The OPTIC trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of ponatinib using a novel, response-based, dose-reduction strategy in patients with CP-CML whose disease is resistant to ≥2 TKIs or who harbor T315I. To assess the dose-response relationship and the effect on the safety of ponatinib, we examined the outcomes of patients with CP-CML enrolled in PACE and OPTIC who received 45 mg/day of ponatinib. A propensity score analysis was used to evaluate AOEs across both trials. Survival rates and median time to achieve ≤1% BCR::ABL1IS in OPTIC were similar or better than in PACE. The outcomes of patients with T315I mutations were robust in both trials. Patients in OPTIC had a lower exposure-adjusted incidence of AOEs compared with those in PACE. This analysis demonstrates that response-based dosing for ponatinib improves treatment tolerance and mitigates cardiovascular risk.