What happens if the tumor recurs or my advanced disease progresses while taking GLIVEC?
In either case, GLIVEC may still be the appropriate treatment choice. If your tumor recurs after surgery, whether or not you were taking GLIVEC, you are now considered to have advanced disease. If you were not taking GLIVEC at the time of recurrence, starting or resuming therapy at the 400-mg dose may be appropriate. If you were taking GLIVEC at the time of recurrence, your doctor may increase the dose.5 If you already had advanced disease and were taking GLIVEC when your disease worsened, an increase in the GLIVEC dose to 800 mg should be considered. In 2 studies of metastatic patients, about one-third of patients who progressed on 400 mg/day achieved partial tumor shrinkage or stabilization when the dose was increased to 800 mg/day.
