Gleevec Patients In Noncompliance

[Guest guest]

I think this was a topic of conversation some months ago when we found that some

doctors were taking their patients off Gleevec for long periods of time. Here

is information on the adverse effects to the patient's responses and a very

cmpelling story for doctors or their patients who think they can get away with

it:

" 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. This study is very important and serves as a warning

for other oral cancer drugs.

" You would think that cancer patients would be more motivated to keep taking

their drug, and so the finding is rather counterintuitive, " he said in an

interview with Medscape Oncology. But he also said that there are other studies

that suggest that noncompliance is a problem in other life-threatening

disorders, and mentioned a study that found that 17% of patients who had

received a kidney transplant were noncompliant with their immunosuppressive drug

therapy, even though not taking these drugs would reduce the likelihood of the

transplant surviving. " (Complete article cited below shows that none of the

patients who took less than 80% of the imatinib dose had a complete response in

which no leukemic cells remained.)

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

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Dr. Janet Rowley: Pioneer of Cancer Genetics Still Bikes to Work at Age 85 Years

" Janet on Rowley, MD, whose pioneering research showed that genetic

mutations play a crucial role in cancer, has been awarded the Margaret L. Kripke

Legend Award by the University of Texas M.D. Cancer Center. The award

was bestowed in recognition of her efforts to mentor women and other minorities

as they pursue their scientific careers. " (Read rest of her bio)

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/726089

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FYI,

Lottie Duthu