Hi Steve, My husband Roy achieved a CCR at 6 months of Gleevec. Doctors usually look for CCR by 1 year of Gleevec but many achieve it in a shorter time. Suboptimal responses are as follows: 1) No CHR within 3 months 2) No cytogenetic response at 6 months and no major cytogenetic response at 1 year. Major cytogenetic response is when the Ph chromosome is 35%Ph+ or less. At these checkpoints, if suboptimal responses are seen then doctors usually prescribe a different therapy or increase the dose of Gleevec.
Some doctors if they do not see a major remission at 6 months may opt to increase the dose of Gleevec. To answer your question of only having hematologic response, yes, there are a few patients who remain 100%Ph+ but they are few in number since 86% achieve a CCR with Gleevec in 5 year follow-up. A few Gleevec patients have complained of hair thinning and for some it has gotten better with time. There is a shampoo most recommend in the US called Nioxin. Actually, I am using it myself, a CML friend got it for me and it is good for hair loss. Vanessa can give it a try. You can take a look at this link, it is CML educational material by Dr. Michael Deininger of OHSU and has all the milestones to be reached on Gleevec. http://www.asheducationbook.org/cgi/content/full/2005/1/174 There is a good section on monitoring and milestones where Dr. Deininger explains what to expect in terms of response at the 3, 6, 9, 12 and later months of Gleevec therapy. Hope this helps. Best Wishes, Anjana caregiver to Roy --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ [CMLHope] A support group of http://cmlhope.com ------------------------------------------------- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "CMLHope" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/CMLHope -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
