We have previously shown that autophagy is rapidly induced following TKI treatment in CML cells and pharmacological autophagy inhibition, using the nonspecific autophagy inhibitor hydroxychloroquine (HCQ; inhibits autophagy at a late stage by preventing the fusion of autophagosomes and lysosomes), enhances the effect of TKI treatment in CML cells, including primary CD34+ stem or progenitor cells.21,22. This evidence concerns the gene CD34 and chronic myelogenous leukemia, BCR-ABL1 positive.