What are the results of the Gleevec (STI571) trials to date?
Trials are ongoing and data is still immature. To date, over 90% of patients who started in chronic phase have achieved hematological remission (normal blood counts). Many patients have cytogenetic remissions (no cancerous cells are found when examining approximately 20 cells from the bone marrow). Some have achieved molecular remission (no cancerous cells can be found by the most sophisticated tests which look at 500,000 to 1,000,000 cells. Of patients who started the trials in the accelerated phase, 65% are in remission at 1 year. Of patients who started the trials in blast phase, 20% to 30% are in remission at 1 year. The most up to date summary of trial results, as of December 15, 2000, can be viewed at Medscape. This summary is by Dr. Moshe Talpaz at M. D. Anderson in Houston, Texas. Medscape requires that you register and get a “User Name” and “Password”. Registration is free. Click here to view the summary.
