Outcome of 3 pregnancies in a patient with chronic myeloid leukemia who received 3 types of tyrosine kinase inhibitors each in different pregnancy: follow-up of the case with a review of published reports

The management of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) during pregnancy remains a matter of continuous debate. Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have become the standard of care in managing patients with CML. These drugs have a good safety profile, but animal studies have shown that they are potentially teratogenic. Therefore, these drugs are not recommended for use during pregnancy or if a female patient plans to conceive. Despite the extensive clinical experience with TKIs, the available information about the effects of TKIs on fertility, pregnancy, and outcome of babies who were exposed to TKIs during pregnancy and lactation is limited. We reported on 1 female CML patient who conceived 3 times while being on different types of TKIs in each pregnancy. All 3 pregnancies were uneventful, and only 1 of the babies was diagnosed with a minor cardiac malformation at the age of 30 months, which was corrected surgically.