The targeted cancer pill – Gleevec – has been approved for the treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors, pediatric CML, as well as five additional rare cancers.
While it has been reported to have saved more than 100,000 lives, Gleevec is now saving more children with a dire leukemia (Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL) ), as well as preventing disease progression with long term use in adults with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).
Such were the data reported by Oregon Health & Science University (OSHU) at the recent annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology:
“Data at this weekend’s meeting continues to …read more

The powerful anti-cancer drug imatinib (Gleevec™) has been re-engineered by researchers at Rice University and the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Developed by Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Gleevec is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), Philadelphia-chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia and GIST.
The drug targets two proteins that have been linked with cancer. One of its targets is the C-Kit kinase, a protein that has been tied to gastrointestinal cancer, and another is Bcr-Abl kinase, a key protein controlling CML.
Not just for kicks, mind you, but to more specifically target one …read more

The drug imatinib has been found to drive cancer into remission in people with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). But CML often returns when treatment is stopped.
Now, according to a new research by a team from UC-Irvine, imatinib could cure CML under certain circumstances if it is taken over a long enough period of time.
According to mathematician Natalia Komarova and biologist Dominik Wodarz (respectively):
“There is evidence that a complete cure is possible. Several patients have been reported to have no symptoms after two months without therapy, which is thought to suggest a complete cure. This evidence supports our theory. Basically, one …read more

Primary gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) is a type of tumor often found in the stomach or small intestine.
Preliminary data of a large, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial which tested imatinib mesylate (Gleevec ®) in patients with primary gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) following complete removal of their tumor were found to be significantly less likely to have a recurrence of their cancer compared to the placebo group.
According to Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., NIH Director:
“The standard treatment for primary GIST is complete surgical removal of the tumor without additional therapy. It is excellent news that addition of this well-tolerated cancer pill to the …read more

Once more, the miracle drug Gleevec, takes center stage.
The leukemia drug Gleevec, though hugely successful has some downsides too: heart failure in a few patients as shown in previous studies and now, drug resistance continues to be a problem.
Now, Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University may have discovered a way to sidestep such resistance by reactivating a protein that is normally shut off in leukemia and in Gleevec-resistant cancer cells, leukemia development is halted.
A drug that could turn on the gene that makes the protein C/EBP-alpha, a “transcription factor” required for cells to differentiate, then, might control or …read more

The “miracle” cancer drug Gleevec and other similarly based drugs (tyrosine kinase inhibitors) could be harmful to the heart, according to a research at the Center for Translational Medicine at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia.
A team of scientists led by Thomas Force, M.D., James C. Wilson Professor of Medicine at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, has shown in studies in both mice and in heart cells in culture that Gleevec can cause heart failure.
“We found that the molecular target of the drug, the Abelson tyrosine kinase (ABL) protein, serves a maintenance function in cardiac muscle cells and is …read more