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The argument for using imatinib in CML

The story of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is truly remarkable. Once a fatal disorder, it is now a chronic illness compatible with a normal life expectancy for the majority of patients. This remarkable advance has been achieved via a deep understanding of the molecular pathogenesis, the sequential development and use of increasingly potent targeted tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), the rigorous use of molecular monitoring to assess response (or lack/loss thereof), and the reinforcement of the need for compliance with daily therapy. The fact is that an individual newly diagnosed with CML in chronic phase in 2018 is more likely to die as a result of another medical condition than of his or…

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Articles of Interest

A Doctor in Full

A scientist willing to risk so much for one patient is a doctor in full. Last Friday, a molecular biologist named Brian Druker shared the 2009 Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award for his part in "converting a fatal cancer into a manageable chronic condition." The cancer is chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The drug Dr. Druker developed, Gleevec, manufactured by Novartis, has saved thousands of lives.

Assessment of Outcomes After Stopping Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors Among Patients With Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

In this study, TKI discontinuation was safe, and 60.8% of patients remained in TFR. Discontinuation of TKIs was associated with improvements in PROs. These findings should assist patients and physicians in their decision-making regarding discontinuation of TKIs.

Dasatinib vs. imatinib in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia

Early molecular response is associated with improved probability of deep molecular response and superior survival in patients with CML-CP. However, ~1 in 3 patients on first-line imatinib do not achieve this threshold.

Gleevec Is Saving My Life but at a Cost

The consequences of CML are both physical and financial, but I’m grateful to be alive.

Gleevec: A 'Miracle Drug' for Some Patients With Chronic Myeloid Leukemia

Here, CURE® looks back with a timeline of the groundbreaking drug, along with Mann’s journey.

Gleevec: How it works

Gleevec works by attaching to a protein called tyrosine kinase in cells made by BCR-ABL1. When Gleevec binds to this protein, the drug prevents the cell from sending signals that tell the cell to grow. Without these growth signals, the cancerous blood cells die. This helps restore the number of blast cells to a healthier level.

Gleevec® for CML: Long-lasting Anticancer Responses Confirmed

Researchers from the Oregon Health and Science University have reported that patients with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) experience long-term, durable anticancer responses to first-line treatment with Gleevec® (imatinib mesylate). In fact, five-year overall survival with Gleevec is greater than with any other therapy for CML; as well, patients experience a diminishing annual frequency of disease progression while on the drug.

How a CML clinical trial and Gleevec saved my life

In 2001, the FDA approved STI571, which was subsequently named Gleevec. I'm still taking it today and am MD Anderson's longest living Gleevec patient. My daughter eventually learned to ride that little pink bike and is now in her third year of medical school. I would like to thank her, along with my wife of 30 years, family, friends, medical staff and all those who have supported me. They helped give me hope -- hope for healing that I'd thought could come only from a donor on the marrow registry. Instead, my healing came from a drug that was only a gleam in some researcher's eye at the time of my CML diagnosis.

How Imatinib Transformed Leukemia Treatment and Cancer Research

In addition to transforming the outcome for patients with CML, the discovery of imatinib helped establish a group of cancer drugs, called targeted therapies, that are designed to attack cancer cells with specific genetic abnormalities. Targeted therapies have immensely changed how cancer is studied and treated, and have fostered the precision medicine approach: treatment tailored to the unique genetic changes in an individual’s cancer cells.

Imatinib: a review of its use in chronic myeloid leukaemia

Imatinib (Gleevec, Glivec) is a synthetic tyrosine kinase inhibitor used in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). It is specifically designed to inhibit the breakpoint cluster region (BCR)-Abelson (ABL) fusion protein that results from the chromosomal abnormality known as the Philadelphia chromosome.

Researcher Behind the Drug Gleevec

You know, my patients were people who’d been told “to get their affairs in order” because they were going die soon. And now some of them play with grandchildren they’d thought they’d never live to see. That’s worth more than money.

The development of imatinib as a therapeutic agent for chronic myeloid leukemia

Imatinib has revolutionized drug therapy of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Preclinical studies were promising but the results of clinical trials by far exceeded expectations. Responses in chronic phase are unprecedented, with rates of complete cytogenetic response (CCR) of more than 40% in patients after failure of interferon-α (IFN) and more than 80% in newly diagnosed patients, a level of efficacy that led to regulatory approval in record time. While most of these responses are stable, resistance to treatment after an initial response is common in more advanced phases of the disease

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Gleevec

Since 2001, Gleevec has been available for patients. Gleevec tablets are indicated for newly diagnosed adult and pediatric patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive...