Gleevec vs Sprycel vs Tasigna

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Sprycel vs. Gleevec

" The first study involved 519 patients with newly diagnosed CML randomly

assigned to take either Sprycel or Gleevec. After one year, cancer cells were

almost completely wiped out in the bone marrow of 77% of patients receiving

Sprycel, compared with 66% of patients receiving Gleevec. Also, 46% of patients

on Sprycel had a major molecular response, meaning that the amount of BCR-ABL in

their blood was barely detectable, vs. 28% on Gleevec.

" Patients on Sprycel responded more quickly, says Hagop Kantarjian, MD, an

oncologist at University of Texas M.D. Cancer Center in Houston who

worked on both studies. A total of 1.9% of patients on Sprycel and 3.5% of

patients on Gleevec progressed to more aggressive states of CML known as

accelerated or blast phases, in which leukemia cells build up and become more

abnormal, causing symptoms to appear or become more serious.

" While it's too soon to know if the drug extends lives, the improved responses

in the Sprycel group suggest " it will significantly improve the long-term

outcome " of CML patients, Kantarjian tells WebMD. The patients continue to be

followed.Kantarjian consults for Sprycel maker Bristol-Myers Squibb, which

funded this study, as well as Novartis Pharmaceuticals, which makes Tasigna and

Gleevec and funded the second study. "

http://tinyurl.com/29xeoor

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Tasigna vs. Gleevec

" In the second study of 846 patients, cancer cells were almost completely wiped

out in the bone marrow of about 80% of patients on Tasigna by one year, compared

with 65% of patients on Gleevec. The rates of major molecular response were

about 44% and 22%, respectively. Tasigna " produced more responses and better

outcomes for patients, " says study head Giuseppe Saglio, MD, of the University

of Turin, Italy.

" All three drugs " have outstanding safety profiles, " Sawyers, MD, of

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, writes in an editorial in

the New England Journal of Medicine. There are modest differences in side

effects that may lead one patient to choose one drug over another, he writes.

For example, muscle cramps and fluid retention are more common with Gleevec,

while changes on liver function tests are more common with Tasigna, he writes.

Rashes and headache were more common among both Sprycel and Tasigna users than

among patients on Gleevec in the new studies. But one-year results may make it

too early to " claim complete victory " against CML, Sawyers writes.

" Ironically, it may come down to economic considerations, he writes, noting that

Gleevec could become available in a much cheaper generic form when its patent

expires in a few years. Currently, a month's supply of Gleevec costs about

$4,200, and Tasigna can run $7,900 per month, according to Novartis, which makes

both drugs. says that based on the research to date, the FDA is expected

to consider approving both newer drugs for newly diagnosed patients. Another

targeted CML drug, bosutinib, made by Pfizer, is also in testing. "

http://tinyurl.com/2f6swyd

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FYI,

Lottie Duthu