Abstract:

Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of imatinib combined with chemotherapy followed by allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation（allo-HSCT） versus imatinib combined with chemotherapy in Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia（Ph+ALL）. Methods We searched for relevant trials in the Cochrane Library，Embase， PubMed，CNKI，CBM and Google Scholar databases， then meta-analyzed data from eligible trials and assessed their methodological quality. Results A total of 12 trials involving 620 patients were included. Meta-analysis showed that inclusion of allo-HSCT was associated with a disease　free survival benefit （HR=0.48，95%CI：0.31-0.74，P<0.001）， overall survival benefit（HR＝0.49，95%CI：0.35-0.68，P<0.001） and fewer deaths（RR=0.62，95%CI：0.39-0.97，P=0.04）. Conclusions Available evidence suggests that supplementing the combination of imatinib and chemotherapy with alloHSCT increases efficacy for treating Ph+ALL.

Key words: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Imatinib, Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, Philadelphia chromosome, Meta-analysis