English abstract
Over the past few years, the survival rate for all cancers has improved considerably.1 The improvement has been ascribed to a combination of early detection and better treatment strategies and modalities. With the advent of systemic treatment, more
and more cancers are being cured, whether they were seemingly localised, or even metastatic at presentation. The improvement in survival has been for most of the part in small incremental gains; however, there have also been some quantum leaps. Over the last 10 years, a total of 33 targeted agents have been approved by the FDA for treatment of various cancers. This is in comparison with 14 cytotoxic agents, approved during the same period.28 The advent of imatinib and its application in CML paved the way for the change. Registries have reported a reduction in the number of transplants for CML,29 and in this 'imatinib era' patients are treated with tablets.30 TKIs and other targeted therapies are now being used either to cure cancers, or to convert cancer to chronic disease. CML has led the way this time. Truly, the disease has brought about a paradigm shift.
