Hi Lee, I pulled up an article about this, I hope that it will help.
Marty Periorbital edema is a common side effect of imatinib mesylate and is reported in up to 74% of patients. This ocular side effect is usually mild to moderate but can rarely be severe enough to require surgical intervention. We herein report a subset of patients with periorbital edema who had excessive tearing (epiphora) as their predominant ocular complaint. Eight patients with CML, two with GIST, and two with prostate cancer who were receiving 100 to 800 mg of Gleevec daily as part of the clinical trials at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center developed epiphora an average of 13.5 months (range: 4 to 35 months) after the start of their treatment with Gleevec. All twelve patients underwent an ophthalmologic examination and probing and irrigation of the lacrimal drainage apparatus. Three patients had conjunctival chemosis noted on external examination, three additional patients had conjunctival chalasis with partial obstruction of the lower puncta by the redundant fold of conjunctiva. No one had punctal or canalicular stenosis or nasolacrimal duct blockage. In three patients treatment with furosamide and topical steroids resulted in improvement of symptoms. No one required a surgical intervention for epiphora. The underlying mechanism of epiphora due to Gleevec is likely multi-factorial and may include: mechanical obstruction of puncta by redundant edematous conjunctival tissue, ocular surface irritation from conjunctival chemosis leading to overproduction of tears, and compromise of the lacrimal pump function due to edema of the eyelid protractor muscles. Nasolacrimal duct blockage or canalicular obstruction is not the mechanism for epiphora in patients receiving Gleevec. Conservative management of epiphora including the occasional use of topical steroids or short pulses of diuretics is recommended for patients receiving Gleevec who are bothered by this ocular side effect. Only one patient to date has required surgical debulking of severe periorbital edema which was obstructing his vision in downgaze. The histopathologic findings on the surgical specimen from this one patient will be discussed. Associated Presentation(s): On Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 9:52 PM, Lee <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello everyone, > > Has anyone experienced watery eyes while on Gleevec? My husband has > been on Gleevec for 3+ years and has recently developed tearing eyes > that never seem to stop. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced > this. If so, what did you do to help this problem? > > Thanking you in advance for your replies. > > Blessings, > Lee > > -- > [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 -- [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
