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Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) Blog

Related terms: Cancer, Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, Chronic Granulocytic Leukemia, Leukemia, Chronic Granulocytic, CML

Blog (9)

Leukemia Patients Taking Gleevec Achieve 'Normal' Death Rate

Posted 22 Mar 2011 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, March 22 – The death rate of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia who took Gleevec and were in remission two years after treatment was similar to the death rate in the general population, a new study shows. Italian researchers collected data on 832 patients who were taking Gleevec (imatinib) for up to eight years and found that 20 patients died during the follow-up period. That death rate of 4.8 percent, however, is similar to what would be expected in the general population. Only six deaths were related to chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), the researchers noted. Serious adverse events such as cardiovascular and digestive problems were reported in 139 patents, but only 27 cases (19 percent) were considered to be related to Gleevec, according to the study. Other adverse events frequently connected to Gleevec included muscle cramps, weakness, edema, skin fragility, diarrhea, and ... Read more

Related support groups: Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), Gleevec

Study Finds Big Strides Made in Treating Leukemia, Lymphoma in Past Decade

Posted 24 Nov 2010 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 24 – Clinicians have made remarkable advances in treating blood cancers with bone marrow and blood stem cell transplants in recent years, significantly reducing the risk of treatment-related complications and death, a new study shows. Between the early 1990s and 2007, there was a 41 percent drop in the overall risk of death in an analysis of more than 2,500 patients treated at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle, a leader in the field of blood cancers and other malignancies. Researchers from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, who conducted the study, also noted dramatic decreases in treatment complications such as infection and organ damage. The study was published in the Nov. 24 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine "We have made enormous strides in understanding this very complex procedure and have yielded quite spectacular results," said study senior ... Read more

FDA approves additional medical indication for Sprycel

Posted 28 Oct 2010 by Drugs.com

SILVER SPRING, Md., Oct. 28 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a new indication for Sprycel (dasatinib) for the treatment of a rare blood cancer when it is first diagnosed. The cancer, called Philadelphia chromosome positive chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia (Ph+ CP-CML), is a slowly progressing blood and bone marrow disease linked to a genetic abnormality. Sprycel, an oral kinase inhibitor, is believed to inhibit the activity of certain proteins responsible for the growth of cancer cells. The action allows bone marrow to begin reproducing normal red and white blood cells. In June 2006, the FDA granted accelerated approval for Sprycel to treat adults with CP-CML with resistant disease or who were intolerant to prior therapy, including Gleevec (imatinib). The agency converted Sprycel to a regular approval in May 2009, after 24-month follow-up data from earlier ... Read more

Some With Once-Deadly Leukemia Can Take a Break From Gleevec

Posted 19 Oct 2010 by Drugs.com

TUESDAY, Oct. 19 – A small group of people with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who decided to stop taking the cancer drug Gleevec (imatinib) have remained cancer-free two years later, French researchers report. The study, published online Oct. 19 in The Lancet Oncology, is the first to raise the possibility that the drug might go beyond long-term cancer control and offer some patients a possible cure. "We've never really told patients that we have a therapy that can provide a cure for this disease," said one expert, Dr. John Cole, chairman of the department of hematology/oncology at the Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans. "We've simply never used the 'cure' word." Gleevec – a highly targeted member of a class of drugs called protein-tyrosine kinase inhibitors – was first approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use against CML in 2001. The medication works by ... Read more

Related support groups: Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), Gleevec

Novartis International AG (CH) - FDA approves Tasigna for newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia patients, data demonstrate major advance over Glivec

Posted 21 Jun 2010 by Drugs.com

Basel, June 17, 2010 - Following a priority review, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Tasigna (nilotinib) for the treatment of adult patients with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia (Ph+ CML) in chronic phase. With this approval, Tasigna becomes the first new therapeutic option for newly diagnosed patients since the introduction of Glivec (imatinib)*, providing a major advance for patients with this blood cancer. The US approval was based on results of the ENESTnd (Evaluating Nilotinib Efficacy and Safety in Clinical Trials of Newly Diagnosed Ph+ CML Patients) Phase III clinical trial, which were published today in The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). "With the faster and deeper responses we are seeing with Tasigna, newly diagnosed CML patients will have a new and more effective treatment option," said Hervé Hoppenot, ... Read more

Related support groups: Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), Tasigna

Newer Drugs Beat Gleevec in Head-to-Head Trials

Posted 7 Jun 2010 by Drugs.com

SATURDAY, June 5 – Two new drugs, dasatinib (Sprycel) and nilotinib (Tasigna), appear better than imatinib (Gleevec) in treating patients with newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia and should be considered as first-line treatments, two new studies show. The findings, which should change clinical practice, are to be presented Saturday at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago and were simultaneously published online June 5 in the New England Journal of Medicine. "Both next-generation inhibitors of BCR-ABL [dasatinib and nilotinib] are superior to Gleevec in treating chronic myeloid leukemia when compared head-to-head after one year of follow-up," said Dr. Charles L. Sawyers, chair of the Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and author of an accompanying ... Read more

Related support groups: Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), Gleevec, Tasigna, Sprycel, Dasatinib, Imatinib, Nilotinib

Stem Cell, Bone Marrow Transplants Both Benefit Leukemia Patients

Posted 1 Feb 2010 by Drugs.com

MONDAY, Feb. 1 – Long-term survival rates are similar for leukemia patients who've had either peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) or bone marrow transplants, a new European study says. The study began with 329 leukemia patients who received either PBSC or bone marrow transplants from a matched sibling donor between 1995 and 1999. Detailed information was collected on all the patients who survived longer than three years after their transplant. Ten years after transplantation, 49.1 percent of PBSC recipients and 56.5 percent of bone marrow transplant recipients were still alive. Chronic graft versus host disease was more common among PBSC transplant patients (73 percent) than among bone marrow transplant patients (54 percent), and more PBSC recipients needed immunosuppressive treatment five years after transplantation (26 percent vs. 12 percent). But this did not affect the PBSC ... Read more

Related support groups: Leukemia, Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Study Suggests Way to 'Mop Up' Leukemia Cells

Posted 8 Jan 2010 by Drugs.com

FRIDAY, Jan. 8 – Preliminary research suggests that a vaccine could help reduce the risk of a relapse in some people who take the drug Gleevec to treat chronic myeloid leukemia. "Should this vaccine approach prove to be successful, the ability to get patients off lifelong Gleevec therapy would be a significant advance," Dr. Hyam Levitsky, a professor of oncology, medicine and urology at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center in Baltimore, said in a news release from the center. Imatinib mesylate (Gleevec) treats chronic myeloid leukemia, but can leave some cancerous cells behind. They can cause a relapse. Researchers from the cancer center tested a vaccine on 19 people who had cancerous cells even though they'd taken Gleevec for a year. After about 72 months, the number of cancer cells had declined in 13 people. In seven, the cancer had vanished. Reported side effects of the treatment ... Read more

Related support groups: Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), Gleevec

Kids Who Beat Cancer Still Face Heart Risks

Posted 9 Dec 2009 by Drugs.com

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 9 – Survivors of childhood cancer have a significantly increased risk for developing heart disease as young adults, a new study finds. The finding came from an analysis of data on 14,358 five-year cancer survivors who were diagnosed before age 21 and 3,899 siblings of cancer survivors. The cancers were leukemia, brain cancer, Hodgkin's lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, kidney cancer, neuroblastoma, soft tissue carcinoma or bone cancer. The study found that young adult survivors of these childhood cancers are much more likely than others in their age group to have cardiovascular problems, including heart failure, heart attack, heart inflammation and heart valve abnormalities, for up to 30 years after being treated for cancer. They also found that the risk was associated with lower exposure to chemotherapy and radiation treatment than previously thought. "Young adults who ... Read more

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