Use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors for paediatric Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukaemia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effectiveness and safety of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in the management of paediatric Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (Ph+ALL). DESIGN: A systematic review and meta-analysis. DATA SOURCES: Electronic searches were conducted on CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, SIOP, ASPHO, ASCO, ASH and four Chinese databases from inception to 8 March 2020. Language of publications was restricted in English and Chinese. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Prospective and retrospective comparative studies were included. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS: Two authors independently assessed and extracted data. Quality of studies was assessed by the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool and Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Subgroup analysis was performed by comparing different types of TKIs. Quality of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach. RESULTS: Two randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and four cohort studies enrolling 536 patients were included. For RCTs, the pooled HR was 0.68 (95% CI 0.26 to 1.78) in overall survival (OS), 0.63 (95% CI 0.28 to 1.42) in event-free survival (EFS), respectively, comparing TKI arm with non-TKI arm for treatment of paediatric Ph+ALL. There was significant difference in OS and EFS between imatinib arm and dasatinib arm (HR 2.26, 95% CI 1.02 to 5.01; HR 2.36; 95% CI 1.27 to 4.39, respectively). For cohort studies, the pooled HR was 0.25 (95% CI 0.14 to 0.47) in OS, 0.25 (95% CI 0.12 to 0.56) in EFS, respectively, comparing TKI arm with non-TKI arm. There was no significance difference in adverse drug reaction between TKI group and without TKI group (risk ratio (RR) 0.82, 95% CI 0.63 to 1.08 in RCT; RR 1.01, 95% CI 0.64 to 1.59 in cohort studies; respectively), and imatinib versus dasatinib (RR 0.97, 95% CI 0.77 to 1.23). The quality of evidence was rated as low for OS, EFS and adverse drug reaction (ADR). CONCLUSIONS: The combination of TKIs with chemotherapy is likely to improve the OS and EFS rates in paediatric Ph+ALL, and dasatinib is superior than imatinib. Large sample size and prospective controlled studies are warranted. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42018104107.