Objectives To evaluate the use, effectiveness and safety of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) for chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) in clinical practice.

Methods A retrospective longitudinal study of patients with CML who received TKIs for at least 6 months was performed. Endpoints to evaluate effectiveness were haematological, cytogenetic and molecular responses. Safety was assessed according to the occurrence of adverse events.

Results Sixty-two patients were included. All received imatinib as the initial TKI; 8% switched to nilotinib due to lack of major molecular response (MMR) to imatinib and 3% switched to dasatinib because of progression to blast crisis or lack of MMR. At the end of the study all patients had achieved at least a complete cytogenetic response. With regard to safety, in 11 patients the dose of imatinib was decreased and four patients switched to a second-generation TKI due to imatinib toxicity.

Conclusions Considering the good responses of most patients and its better known safety profile, imatinib should remain a good option for first-line treatment of CML.