By Sharon Sharma

According to a new study by scientists from Australia that was published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, April 26, 2010, the organic cation transporter-1 (OCT-1) activity (OA) is a predictor for the long-term risk of resistance and transformation in patients with imatinib-treated chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) and it can be used to individualise dosage regimen for patients with CML. The study found that more patients who had high OA achieved major molecular response by 60 months compared to patients who had low OA (89% vs. 55%; P=0.007). The low OA group has significantly lower survival and very low OA patients were the only subjects who developed blast transformation. Thus it appears that this novel marker can be used to maximise molecular outcome and ensure long-term survival in patients with CML.