The agent, called AMN107 for now, led to marked improvement in all three phases of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) and a form of acute lymphocytic leukaemia (ALL) that shares the same genetic abnormality as CML, scientists from the MD Anderson Cancer Centre at the University of Texas told those attending the American Society of Hematology annual meeting in Atlanta.

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"This drug is very promising and appears at this point to offer an effective option for patients who do not achieve an optimal response to Gleevec therapy," said Dr Hagop Kantarjian, chairman of the Department of Leukaemia at the cancer centre. The study involved 119 patients.

If future studies confirm these latest findings, the compound, which can be taken in pill form, "will either replace Gleevec as the standard of care in the future or will be used in combination with it," Kantarjian said.

In recent studies, some leukaemia patients have started to show resistance to Gleevec, so experts say alternative treatments are a welcome option. – (HealthDayNews)

Read more: A-Z of Leukaemia

December 2005
 

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