Imatinib Mesylate (Gleevec™) Confirmed as More Effective Than
Conventional Therapy for CML The molecularly targeted drug
Gleevec delayed progression of disease for longer, produced
milder side effects, and resulted in a significantly better
response than conventional therapy in patients with previously
untreated chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), researchers report
in the March 13, 2003, issue of the New England Journal of
Medicine (see the journal abstract). At 18 months of follow-up,
however, the researchers found no evidence that treatment with
Gleevec lengthens patients lives: 97 percent of patients treated
with Gleevec (imatinib, formerly known as STI571) survived,
compared with 95 percent of those who got conventional therapy.
Early results of this study were considered so significant that
they were released ahead of schedule at the American Society of
Clinical Oncology annual meeting in May 2002. At that time,
patients had been followed for an average of six to eight
months. The study--known as the In