Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) treatment

Before you begin treatment, you and your doctor will discuss your treatment options. One option may be a clinical trial. Like all treatment options, clinical trials have possible risks and benefits. By considering all your treatment options, including clinical trials, you will be taking an active role in this important decision.

For most CMML patients, the disease is treatable, but not curable, using currently available therapies. Patients are advised to:

• Seek treatment from a hematologist-oncologist who is experienced in treating CMML or from a hematologist-oncologist who is in consultation with a cancer center
• Discuss with your hematologist-oncologist the most appropriate treatment for your situation. 

Learn more about communicating with your blood cancer specialist or find a list of suggested questions to ask your healthcare providers. 

Types of CMML treatment

For most CMML patients, the disease is treatable but not curable using currently available therapies. The type of treatment depends on various patient factors, including the nature and extent of symptoms, need for rapid disease control, eligibility for stem cell transplantation, and overall health and quality of life. Open each section below to learn more.

Get free clinical trial support! Visit our Clinical Trial Support Center (CTSC).

Connect with registered nurses with expertise in blood cancers who can personally assist you or your caregiver through each step of the clinical trial process. 

CMML treatment side effects 

The following side effects are common to CMML treatment: 

• Extreme fatigue
• Infections
• Hair loss
• Nausea and vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Constipation
• Mouth sores
• Low blood pressure
• Low levels of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets in the blood
• Anemia (caused by a low red blood cell count)

Learn more about CMML treatment side effects and how to manage them.

Treatment results 

All patients are advised to discuss survival information with their hematologist-oncologists. Keep in mind that outcome data can only show how other people with CMML responded to treatment and cannot predict how any one person will respond.

Unfortunately, lasting remissions are not common. The expected survival time ranges from a few months to a few years after the initiation of treatment, depending on a variety of risk factors including the percentage of blasts in the blood and marrow, the white blood cell count, and the presence of certain gene mutations.

CMML progresses to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in approximately 15 percent to 30 percent of patients over three to five years. Those with the proliferative form of the disease (MP-CMML) tend to have a higher risk of transformation to AML.

Relapsed and refractory

Some patients' cancer returns after a successful course of treatment. This is called a “relapse.”

Some patients' cancer does not respond to treatment. This is called “refractory” CMML.

If you have relapsed or refractory CMML, talk with your doctor about whether taking part in a clinical trial may be a good option for you.

Follow-up care

Find more information about follow-up care, including what to expect, long-term and late effects of treatment, survivorship clinics, and other resources, such as The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) treatment guidelines.