(I have no financial or personal interest in this company, but posted this in case it might benefit someone.) Doctors in our area using this drug, are astounded at its success. suzy

http://cancertrials.nci.nih.gov/types/leuk/sti571/

Digest Page: STI571 (GleevecTM) (Updated 05/10/01) -- STI571, also called GleevecTM, received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 10, 2001, as an oral treatment for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).

Specifically, the drug has been approved to treat the following three phases of CML: chronic phase that is no longer responding to the standard therapy, interferon; accelerated phase; and myeloid blast crisis.

STI571 is the first approved drug to directly turn off the signal of a protein known to cause a cancer. Other molecular-targeting drugs previously approved by the FDA interfere with proteins associated with other cancers, but not with proteins that directly cause the disease.

Initially developed to treat CML, STI571 is now being evaluated in the treatment of certain types of brain cancer as well as a very rare form of stomach cancer.

Novartis, the maker of STI571, has a Patient Assistance Program (PAP) to help patients who may be eligible for financial assistance in covering the cost of the drug. The company has set up a Web site (www.gleevec.com) as well as a toll-free number to call for more information about PAP or the drug itself: 1-877-GLEEVEC (1-877-453-3832).

More information can be found via the following links:

NCI Information

Current Clinical Trials

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NCI Information FDA Approves Important New Leukemia Drug -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced on May 10, 2001, its approval of the drug GleevecTM as an oral treatment for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).

Questions and Answers: GleevecTM -- Answers to frequently asked questions about this important cancer drug.

Discoveries Leading to FDA Approval of STI571/GleevecTM -- An overview of the significant research steps leading to the development of STI571.

STI571 Proves Itself in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia -- Two reports in the April 5, 2001, New England Journal of Medicine conclude that STI571 offers much promise for treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and may soon surpass interferon alpha as the standard treatment for the disease.

Trials Will Test STI571 (GleevecTM) in More Cancers -- As of November 2000, the drug STI571 has moved into clinical trials for glioblastoma, a kind of brain tumor, and for gastrointestinal stromal tumors and leukemia under a new agreement between the National Cancer Institute and Novartis Pharmaceuticals, the company that makes STI571.

Leukemia Drug Heralds Molecularly Targeted Era -- An article on the history and development of STI571, from the Jan. 5, 2000, issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Current Clinical Trials

List of open clinical trials of STI571 in the treatment of various leukemias, from NCI's clinical trials database.

List of open clinical trials of STI571 in the treatment of malignant glioma, meningioma, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, or soft tissue sarcoma, from NCI's clinical trials database.

Leukemia News and Resources

Leukemia Information on CancerNet

-- suzy (its suzy 2@aol.com), May 12, 2001