Outcome after short exposure to tyrosine kinase inhibitors in pregnant female patients with chronic myeloid leukemia

Unintended pregnancy for female patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) raises the discussion of treatment choices due to the teratogenicity of tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). We report 51 accidental pregnant CML chronic phase (CP) patients with TKI withdrawal immediately after pregnancy from December 2010 to February 2024 to observe the effect of short exposure to TKI on the fetus and the infant outcomes. 59 pregnancies resulted in 100% normal childbirth without birth abnormalities. The median TKI exposure duration was 4 (4–20) weeks in 58 pregnancies, and one pregnancy avoided TKI exposure due to treatment discontinuation of the patient with treatment-free remission (TFR). All newborns had normal birth weight except one premature infant with low birth weight less than the 10th percentile. Up to now, all the children are in good health. 13 (25.5%) and 30 (58.8%) patients had achieved major molecular response (MMR) and deep molecular response (DMR) at pregnancy, respectively. After TKI discontinuation, loss of MMR and complete hematologic response occurred in 6 (46.2%) and 2 (25.0%) patients at delivery, respectively. 38 patients resumed TKI treatment after delivery, and 13 patients without DMR loss sustained TFR after delivery. The median time to regain MMR and DMR were 3 (2–6) months and 6 (1–28) months, respectively. These results demonstrate that TKI discontinuation during pregnancy is feasible for CML-CP patients, and short TKI exposure of pregnant patients has little influence on children’s growth and development.