any1 else

hi there,amj ust wondering if anybody has chronic myeloid lukeamia?I was diagnosed last year and was immediatley put on gleevec 400mg/day.At my last consult my metabolic stats had risen,hence blood tests to determine if the gleevec is no longer working.I am still in firstphase and wonder what my options are if the gleevec is no longer an option.Amin pretty good form,just very tired and a lot of bone pain.

[Hien K Duong, MD]

Eithne01,

The treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has changed significantly since the late 1990s, with the development and subsequent approval by the Food and Drug Administration of imatinib (in 2001), the first of a class of medications called tyrosine kinase inhibitors, which target the specific abnormality that causes CML.

Before that time, patients were treated with other therapy, including interferon and bone marrow transplant, and had very poor outcomes.  Since the approval of imatinib, patients now have over 80-85% long-term survival. However, not all patients respond to or are able to tolerate imatinib.

Fortunately, in the last several years, two other agents (these are referred to as second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors) – dasatinib (Sprycel®) and nilotinib (Tasigna©) have both been shown to be at least equally effective (and likely better) in treating CML.  They have different side effects, but either can be used as initial therapy for CML or after imatinib therapy.

This may be helpful to you:
http://www.medhelp.org/cancer/articles/New-Treatments-for-Chronic-Myelogenous-Leukemia/3

Another  helpful site is Cancer.Net, from the American Society of Clinical Oncology: http://www.cancer.net  (just enter CML into the search area).

Thank you for your question.

[ken59]

    Dear Sir,
         Couldyou please give me the overall median survival of elderly,over 60 acute lymphoblastic leukemia?I am getting different statistics when researcing on internet.Also I would like to know what it was in early 80's in same age group back then.Icant find data going back then.Thank you so much for any help you can give as i have tried every where to get this data.
                    Sincerely,
                      ***@****