Gleevec News and Research

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Gleevec is a drug used to treat different types of leukemia and other cancers of the blood, gastrointestinal stromal tumors, skin tumors called dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, and a rare condition called systemic mastocytosis. It is also being studied in the treatment of other types of cancer. Gleevec blocks the protein made by the bcr/abl oncogene. It is a type of tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Also called imatinib mesylate and STI571.

Fingolimod shows promise in 2 lethal leukemias

A new study suggests that an experimental drug being tested for the treatment of multiple sclerosis and to prevent organ rejection might also help people with certain deadly forms of chronic and acute leukemia.

29 Aug 2007

St. Jude discovers factors that accelerate resistance to Gleevec targeted therapy in lymphoblastic leukemia

Results of a study by investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital provide strong evidence for why the drug imatinib (Gleevec), which has revolutionized the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), is often unable to prevent relapse of a particularly aggressive form of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

29 Aug 2007

Potential new leukemia drug

In a new study, Danilo Perrotti and colleagues from Ohio State University, Columbus, show that treatment with a drug known as FTY720 prevents disease in a mouse model of many leukemias caused by the cancer protein BCR-ABL (nearly all cases of blast crisis chronic myeloid leukemia [CML-BC] and some cases of acute lymphocytic leukemia [ALL]).

24 Aug 2007

Combination of drugs might decrease the chance of chronic myeloid leukemia returning

Individuals with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) are treated first with a drug known as imatinib (Gleevec), which targets the protein known to cause the cancer (BCR-ABL).

17 Aug 2007

Detection of gene fusions in prostate cancer

Researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center have discovered how genes turn on the switch that leads to prostate cancer.

3 Aug 2007

Genetic mutation that may alter response to cancer therapeutics found

Researchers from Eli Lilly & Company and the Phoenix-based Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) today announced finding a novel recurring mutation of the gene AKT1 in breast, colorectal and ovarian cancers.

4 Jul 2007

Support for chromosomal theory of cancer found in cancers' development of drug resistance

Thirty-six years into the war on cancer, scientists have not only failed to come up with a cure, but most of the newer drugs suffer from the same problems as those available in the pre-war days: serious toxicity, limited effectiveness and eventual resistance.

28 Jun 2007

Gene implicated in the development of cancer cells can be switched on using drugs

A gene implicated in the development of cancer cells can be switched on using drugs, report researchers from the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

16 Jun 2007

Dasatinib shows promise as first treatment for chronic myelogenous leukemia

An established second-line drug for chronic myelogenous leukemia has high response rates when given to newly diagnosed patients as their first therapy for the disease, according to early results from a Phase II clinical trial at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.

5 Jun 2007

University of Leicester launches one-year Masters degree in Cancer Chemistry

The degree is the first of its kind in the country, fulfilling a need to provide graduates with skills in the chemistry and biology of cancer, and direct experience of some of the very latest research in the field.

22 May 2007

Wrapping version of Gleevec fights drug-resistant cancer

A new study highlighted on the cover of this week's issue of Cancer Research finds that the anti-cancer drug Gleevec? is far more effective against a drug-resistant strain of cancer when the drug wraps the target with a molecular bandage that seals out water from a critical area.

2 May 2007

Gleevec available to patients in post-surgical GIST study

Investigators will begin offering Gleevec(R) (imatinib mesylate)* tablets to patients receiving placebo in a major North American clinical trial after an interim analysis showed participants with Kit-positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors treated with Gleevec following surgery were significantly less likely to experience a return of their cancer compared to those not taking this innovative therapy.

15 Apr 2007

Gleevec shows great promise in preventing cancer recurrence

Gleevec, a pill developed in conjunction with the Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute is again showing excellent results in preventing a cancer recurrence.

15 Apr 2007

Gleevec decreases cancer recurrence for GIST

Preliminary results from a large, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial for patients with primary gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), a type of tumor usually found in the stomach or small intestine, showed that patients who received imatinib mesylate (Gleevec) after complete removal of their tumor were significantly less likely to have a recurrence of their cancer compared to those who did not receive imatinib.

15 Apr 2007

Disorderly protein brings order to cell division

The secret to the ability of a molecule critical for cell division to throw off the protein yoke that restrains its activity is the yoke itself - a disorderly molecule that seems to have a mind of its own, say investigators at St. Jude

13 Mar 2007

Novartis to continue Indian patent fight

Novartis CEO Daniel Vasella on Tuesday at the company's annual general meeting said that the drug maker plans to continue a lawsuit challenging a section of India's Patents Act that aims to restrict certain kinds of patents, despite criticism from some HIV/AIDS advocacy groups and shareholders, Reuters reports

8 Mar 2007

Novartis' day in court could leave millions without AIDS drugs

The Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis is in court in India this week challenging the country's patent laws.

30 Jan 2007

Disorderly protein brings order to cell division

The secret to the ability of a molecule critical for cell division to throw off the protein yoke that restrains its activity is the yoke itself a disorderly molecule that seems to have a mind of its own, say investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Innsbruck Medical University and Max Planck Institute.

28 Jan 2007

Turning the immune system against cancer

Medicine can now prevent a host of diseases with a mere shot of vaccine. Polio and smallpox are almost non-existent, and mumps and chicken pox are rarely seen nowadays.

4 Aug 2006

Gleevec may cause heart problems

Gleevec, the wildly successful poster-child of a new generation of cancer drugs aimed at specific targets in the cancer cell, can be dangerous to the heart.

24 Jul 2006