By Brian Druker, MD, Oregon Health and Science University Cancer
Institute, Portland, OR Many advances in the treatment of cancer
can be traced to the therapy of leukemia. The development of a
specific therapy for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a
remarkable story of scientific discovery that proved that a
precise understanding of the molecular cause of a cancer can
lead to an effective and non-toxic “targeted” treatment. |Click
to enlarge CML is one of the four main types of leukemia,
affecting approximately 5,000 people per year in the United
States. The disease can occur at any age but is primarily a
disease of adults. CML is characterized by a massive over-
production of white blood cells. A normal white blood cell count
ranges between 4,000 and 10,000; in contrast, patients with CML
typically have white blood cell counts ranging from 100,000 to
as high as 500,000. Because the white blood cells mature and
function normally, infections are not a common feature of CML.
Rather, symptoms include fatigue due