Hopeful for a cure, but not a given

November 2, 2010

Hi Folks,

After batting this around for some time, Medscape has made this announcement and

while we should remain hopeful, it is not a promise of a cure. Every drug has

to have a trial and they need recruits and warm bodies. If you are in molecular

remission and have been for 2 years, you may be a candidate for this trial, but

you will have to look for a trial in your area and a doctor willing to conduct

it. This is not new, as a matter of fact, Australia has been doing it since

2008 (Blood.2008). It is encouraging and we should not rule anything out. No

one would really know where Gleevec would take us and it literally took over the

industry in CML drugs, and still going strong for a lot of people. It has many

attributes. I never had Pleurial and Pericardial effusions on it, though I had

some other side effects, one being monthly bladder infections. I gained 40# of

fluid between my ears mostly. LOL. If nothing else works, I may find myself

back on it, as the lesser of all the other evils. Combos are gaining

recognition and with all things, INF. Have faith and keep on looking for other

things that are being reported on a monthly basis. Things, they are a'changin'.

**********************

" After stopping imatinib treatment, 41% of patients maintained complete

molecular remission for 1 year, and 38% continued in complete molecular

remission for up to 2 years, according to the investigators. The team, led by

François-Xavier Mahon, MD, from the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Bordeaux

in France, report their findings in a study published online October 19 in the

Lancet Oncology. As the study authors point out, current practice is for

patients to continue treatment indefinitely because the ability of imatinib to

eradicate CML is not clear. This study might ultimately redefine treatment

duration for some patients. " Our results suggest that some patients with CML

could be cured with tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment alone, " write the

authors.

" However, only a minority of patients can hope for such a positive outcome.

Imatinib might only be capable of eliminating rapidly cycling stem cells, but

not all small subclones and their slowly cycling stem cells. " (More at website)

*********************

FYI,

Lottie Duthu

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