Dr. Jabbour on the ASCEMBL Data With Asciminib in Chronic-Phase CML

Elias Jabbour, MD, a professor of the Department of Leukemia, of the Division of Cancer Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses data with asciminib in patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).

One of the agents that has emerged in recent years is asciminib, which is not an adenosine triphosphate binding pocket inhibitor but a myristate pocket binding inhibitor. A phase 1 study has demonstrated efficacy with the agent at different dosing schedules. In the ASCEMBL trial, which was presented during the 2020 ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition, patients who had received at least 2 prior TKIs experienced a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in major molecular response with the agent at 24 weeks. 

Arterial-occlusive events were reported in 3.2% of patients who received asciminib vs 1.3% of those who were given bosutinib. On the investigative arm, this was comprised of myocardial ischemia and coronary artery disease.