Three-drug regimen puts five Ph-positive mixed-phenotype leukemia patients in remission

A small retrospective study reports that a three-drug combination of venetoclax, olverembatinib, and prednisone—dubbed the VOP regimen—achieved complete remission in all five patients treated as frontline therapy for Philadelphia chromosome-positive mixed-phenotype acute leukemia, a rare and hard-to-treat blood cancer that currently lacks standardized therapeutic guidelines.

In the reported cohort of five patients with de novo Ph-positive MPAL, every patient achieved complete remission after the initial induction therapy and tested negative for measurable residual disease. Three of the patients went on to receive allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and maintained durable complete molecular remission, the most favorable outcomes described in the series.

However, the treatment was not without serious risk. During consolidation therapy, two of the five patients developed severe myelosuppression and died of respiratory failure caused by pulmonary infections. The authors emphasize that these deaths underscore the need to optimize venetoclax dosing during the consolidation phase to reduce the risk of life-threatening myelosuppression and infectious complications.

The study, published as a Correspondence in Blood Research, is retrospective and includes only five patients, so its findings should be interpreted with caution. The authors state that the results suggest the VOP regimen may be effective in patients with Ph-positive MPAL, but they do not claim it establishes a new standard of care.

Subject of Research: Frontline venetoclax, olverembatinib, and prednisone therapy for Philadelphia chromosome-positive mixed-phenotype acute leukemia

Article Title: Venetoclax combined with olverembatinib and prednisone as a frontline therapeutic strategy for Philadelphia chromosome-positive mixed-phenotype acute leukemia

Article References: Li, X., Zhou, Y., Lin, X., Tong, H., Jin, J., & Wang, H. (2026). Venetoclax combined with olverembatinib and prednisone as a frontline therapeutic strategy for Philadelphia chromosome-positive mixed-phenotype acute leukemia. Blood Research, 61(1), Article 65. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44313-026-00180-z

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s44313-026-00180-z

Keywords: mixed-phenotype acute leukemia, Philadelphia chromosome, venetoclax, olverembatinib, prednisone, BCR::ABL1, complete remission, measurable residual disease, myelosuppression, allogeneic stem cell transplantation, Blood Research, combined