Sorafenib for Prophylaxis of Leukemia Relapse in Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Recipients With FLT3-ITD Positive Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Internal tandem duplication of FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3-ITD) mutations have been reported in 20%-30% of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). FLT3-ITD-positive AML patients have an inferior survival, primarily due to lower complete remission (CR) rate and higher relapse rate. Although allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) improves the outcomes of some FLT3-ITD-positive AML, a significant number will suffer disease recurrence after allo-HSCT. Sorafenib, an inhibitor of multiple kinases including FLT3, has shown promising activity in FLT3-ITD-positive AML. Recent studies have shown that sorafenib monotherapy or in combination with chemotherapy are effective in attaining CR, but they do not have significant improvement in relapse. Currently, prophylactic use of sorafenib after allo-HSCT has been rarely reported, and whether it can improve outcomes of FLT3-ITD-positive AML remains unclear.