François-Xavier Mahon

Francois-Xavier Mahon at Bordeaux led the STIM trial — the first study demonstrating that CML patients who achieve deep molecular response (BCR-ABL undetectable) on imatinib can safely discontinue therapy, with approximately 50% maintaining treatment-free remission (TFR). This transformative finding offered the possibility of TKI-free life for CML patients and motivated the concept of functional cure in TKI-treated CML.