Take your drugs on time, or else

[Guest guest]

Nonadherence to Imatinib in 25% of CML Patients Leads to Poorer Control

" About 25% of patients being treated with imatinib (Gleevec, Novartis) for

chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) did not take the drug as prescribed, and ended up

taking less than 90% of their imatinib doses. This had an adverse effect on

their cytogenic and molecular responses, and might ultimately affect long-term

outcomes, say researchers in the United Kingdom.

" A few details of the study were discussed by coauthor Lina Eliasson, a PhD

student at the School of Pharmacy, University of London, United Kingdom, at a

press briefing in London last week. The briefing focused on cancer-drug

development, the subject of this year's School of Pharmacy lecture. The extent

of noncompliance seen with imatinib is similar to that seen in other studies of

chronic diseases, but it was rather " surprising " in this context of a

life-threatening disease, said Nick Barber, PhD, professor of practice and

policy at from the School of Pharmacy, an expert on compliance, and Ms.

Eliasson's PhD supervisor. "

" We want to get rid of every last cancer cell in the body, and USING CANCER

VACCINES may be a good way to mop up residual disease, " said Hyam Levitsky, MD,

professor of oncology, medicine, and urology at the s Hopkins Kimmel Cancer

Center in Baltimore, land, in a statement. He said more research is needed

to confirm and expand the results. "

American Society of Hematology (ASH) 51st Annual Meeting: Abstract 3290.

Presented December 7, 2009.

American Society of Hematology (ASH) 51st Annual Meeting: Abstract 3290.

Presented December 7, 2009. More on the article at this website:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/715040

FYI,

Lottie Duthu

[Guest guest]

I read a summary of this research here in the UK and it surprised me too.  What

they did was give subjects a special bottle which recorded when each tablet was

removed from it, and used that information to assess whether they were taken in

compliance with the prescribed regime.  The results were surprising in

terms of compliance (a fair proportion were not) but the effects of non

compliance were clear - the less compliant the patient is with the regime, the

poorer the response.  The reverse also seems to be true.  Current research is

also looking at plasma levels of imatinib and the two studies seem to correlate

- keeping the minimum level in your system above a certain threshold seems to be

important in terms of overall response and if you don't take the meds regularly

as prescribed (ie at about the same time each day), then that level can drop. 

It also seems to explain why some people do less well despite compliance - for

some biological reason

they just don't process the drug so well and their plasma levels aren't high

enough.

If the compliance study is right, it means the results for imatinib could be

even better than they are so far. But most importantly, as Lottie says, it also

emphasises (if we needed to be reminded!) how important it is to take the pills

as instructed.

________________________________

From: Lottie Duthu <lotajam@...>

CML < >

Sent: Thu, January 14, 2010 5:49:43 AM

Subject: [ ] Take your drugs on time, or else

 

Nonadherence to Imatinib in 25% of CML Patients Leads to Poorer Control

" About 25% of patients being treated with imatinib (Gleevec, Novartis) for

chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) did not take the drug as prescribed, and ended up

taking less than 90% of their imatinib doses. This had an adverse effect on

their cytogenic and molecular responses, and might ultimately affect long-term

outcomes, say researchers in the United Kingdom.

" A few details of the study were discussed by coauthor Lina Eliasson, a PhD

student at the School of Pharmacy, University of London, United Kingdom, at a

press briefing in London last week. The briefing focused on cancer-drug

development, the subject of this year's School of Pharmacy lecture. The extent

of noncompliance seen with imatinib is similar to that seen in other studies of

chronic diseases, but it was rather " surprising " in this context of a

life-threatening disease, said Nick Barber, PhD, professor of practice and

policy at from the School of Pharmacy, an expert on compliance, and Ms.

Eliasson's PhD supervisor. "

" We want to get rid of every last cancer cell in the body, and USING CANCER

VACCINES may be a good way to mop up residual disease, " said Hyam Levitsky, MD,

professor of oncology, medicine, and urology at the s Hopkins Kimmel Cancer

Center in Baltimore, land, in a statement. He said more research is needed

to confirm and expand the results. "

American Society of Hematology (ASH) 51st Annual Meeting: Abstract 3290.

Presented December 7, 2009.

American Society of Hematology (ASH) 51st Annual Meeting: Abstract 3290.

Presented December 7, 2009. More on the article at this website:

http://www.medscape .com/viewarticle /715040

FYI,

Lottie Duthu