Bianka Patel, PharmD, BCOP

A panelist discusses how emerging chronic myeloid leukemia treatment advancements, including the addition of asciminib as a frontline tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) option and ongoing research into dual TKI therapy and optimal dosing strategies, are expanding therapeutic choices while pharmacists play a key role in educating patients and providers about evolving treatment algorithms, evaluating new literature, and helping teams manage newer agents with less clinical experience.

A panelist discusses how pharmacists can significantly improve treatment adherence in chronic myeloid leukemia patients through regular patient touchpoints, adherence monitoring, and personalized strategies that address individual barriers, while emphasizing the importance of incorporating patient preferences and goals into tyrosine kinase inhibitor selection through shared decision-making to optimize long-term therapy success.

A panelist discusses how pharmacists play a critical role in tyrosine kinase inhibitors treatment evaluation by addressing patient concerns about dosing, administration, and drug interactions while helping assess efficacy, safety, and tolerability through their knowledge of treatment guidelines, individual drug profiles, and adverse effect management strategies to optimize therapy selection and monitoring for each patient's specific circumstances and comorbidities.

A panelist discusses how social determinants of health including low health literacy, economic instability, housing and transportation issues create significant barriers to tyrosine kinase inhibitor adherence and patient engagement in underserved chronic myeloid leukemia populations, leading to higher cancer-related mortality rates, while pharmacists can help bridge these gaps through tailored education, advocacy for assistance programs, and innovative care delivery methods like virtual visits.

A panelist discusses how financial burdens and insurance limitations impact chronic myeloid leukemia treatment decisions, with newer drugs like asciminib facing approval challenges despite recent FDA approval, while pharmacists can help overcome these obstacles by educating patients about assistance programs, advocating for access, and helping navigate the complex health care system to ensure sustainable long-term therapy options.

A panelist discusses how accessing tyrosine kinase inhibitors for chronic myeloid leukemia treatment faces multiple barriers including financial challenges from insurance coverage and rising drug costs, prior authorization requirements, social barriers like transportation and health literacy issues, and practical obstacles such as the need to manually request refills for specialty oncology medications.