Prof Josep Ribera talks to ecancer about the PhALLCON trial that found that ponatinib, combined with reduced-intensity chemotherapy, was superior to imatinib for frontline treatment of newly diagnosed Ph+ ALL in adults.

Ponatinib achieved higher rates of MRD-negative complete remission and longer progression-free survival (PFS) across different age groups and BCR:ABL1 variant subgroups.

Patients on ponatinib were less likely to need haematopoietic stem cell transplants.

The safety profile of ponatinib was comparable to imatinib, with similar rates of thromboembolic events and treatment discontinuations.