New Leukemia Drugs
Reported April 26, 2006
(TAMPA, Fla. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) — Five years ago, the drug Gleevec changed the lives of patients with leukemia. But some patients become resistant to Gleevec over time. Now, doctors are studying two new treatments that are even more potent.
This is more than a visit to a botanical garden for Amy Baker. It’s part of what she calls her “leukemic” adventure. Baker was diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia or CML. She first took the drug Gleevec (imatinib).
“[Gleevec] is a pill you take once a day and actually produces complete remission of this disease,” says Kapil Bhalla, M.D., a hematologist/oncologist at Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute in Tampa, Fla.
But Baker became resistant to Gleevec. Her only option was a clinical trial in Florida. Baker lives in Ohio, so every 28 days, she hops a plane. “I made up my mind when I was going to do this I would call this my leukemic adventure,” she says.
In his clinical trial, Dr. Bhalla is studying two drugs that are more potent than Gleevec, AMN107 and dasatinib. He says they are making a big difference in the progression of the disease in patients who have developed resistance to Gleevec.
With this type of leukemia, parts of chromosomes 9 and 22 switch places, creating abnormality called the Philadelphia Chromosome. Knowing this, Dr. Bhalla tells Ivanhoe, “We have a target in this disease.”
When it comes to AMN107, Baker has rave reviews. “You don’t lose your hair,” she says. “You don’t get really, really sick.” And it’s working. Before the treatment, her Philadelphia Chromosome level was at 90 percent, and now it’s down to 2.5 percent — a big improvement. Today, she’s happily enjoying life and looking forward to fulfilling many other adventures.
Some patients with CML who can get to remission are then able to get a bone marrow transplant, which can be a cure for this disease. Dr. Bhalla says these new drugs have made this option available to more and more patients with CML who have a bone marrow match.
If you would like more information, please contact:
Linda Loudon
Moffitt Cancer Center
Cancer Answers, FOW/LCS
12902 Magnolia Dr.
Tampa, FL 33612
(800) 456-7121
