Advancement Through Clinical Trials

March 19, 2011

A Very Exciting Time for CML

Meir Wetzler, MD, professor of medicine and chief of the leukemia section at

Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York, and a member of the NCCN CML

Guidelines Committee, told Medscape Medical News that the 2011 version of the

guidelines are proof that, 10 years after imatinib, there are still exciting

developments in the management of CML.

Dr. Meir Wetzler

He urged clinicians to enroll their patients in clinical trials whenever

possible.

" Sending patients to clinical trials is crucial for this development. This is

how we have advanced the field. Without clinical trials we would not be where we

are today. "

He also emphasized that CML patients are now living long and good-quality lives,

unlike 20 years ago when the average survival was 4 to 5 years. As a result,

clinicians need to be aware that the TKIs interact with many other drugs.

" The tyrosine kinase inhibitors have a very large panel of drug interactions and

clinicians must be careful when prescribing other drugs, " he said. " They should

consult the appropriate people for guidance to be sure there is no drug

interaction that will harm the patient, because these patients now are living

with CML and they are living very well. "

National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 16th Annual Conference. Presented

March 11, 2011.

FYI,

Lottie Duthu

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