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