Thank you Elizabeth,  I served 6 years in the  Navy.
 
greenie
 
 
In a message dated 11/11/2014 1:43:34 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
[email protected] writes:

 
Thinking of you all.  Nick is critically anemic due to  Gleevec.  Hope 
Richard H., Shannon, Bobbie Doyle, and all keep  up  your sharing of info.  
thanks so much Marty for the reports from the  clinical trials to reduce or 
stop 
Gleevec.  
Thank  you to all Veterans on this day.  Elizabeth Woods




 
 
On Tuesday, November 11, 2014 4:32 AM,  "[email protected]" 
<[email protected]>  wrote:




 
 
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 () _Glivec and studies of stopping the drug _ 
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Richard H  <[email protected]>: Nov 10 09:05PM -0800 

Yes.  This was the reason I stopped Gleevec. I was also had Iron Deficient  
Anemia. I had to infuse the iron to help try to recover my RBC count  
because was below 9. I was also still taking Gleevec while doing  this. 
On Monday, November 10, 2014 12:56:18 AM UTC-6, Shannon L  wrote:
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"Sue"  <[email protected]>: Nov 10 07:13PM +0800 

Hi  Shannon 



There is also the Destiny Trial in  the UK which is reduction down to 200mg 
for 12 months and then stop  (there has been no report until after Dec 
2014) 

The next  Trial is named Spirit3 to see if people are being over medicated  



The Australian Survey will have 600  participants 



Sue  Hurt

(Australian)



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* Glivec  and studies of stopping the drug - 5 Updates 

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<http://groups.google.com/group/cmlhope/t/839da881a2e6e455?utm_source=digest
&utm_medium=email>  Glivec and studies of stopping the drug 


Shannon  L <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>  
>: Nov 09 03:58AM -0800 

Hi All My name is Shannon I  live in Sydney Australia
Its been awhile since I have posted.
I  was diagnosed 1998 and after a few years went onto sti571 (glivec) and  
achieved remission within 2 months and I have been it ever since  about 14 
yrs.
They are inviting participants (in Australia) to  take a survey of stopping 
glivec I image they will do a study of  stopping the drug.
My question is does everyone know of the study  done in USA of the stats of 
stopping they have indicated in this  survey info that the percentage of 
success is 30-40% to me that  SEEMS LOW what do you think.
I do have some problems but I am stable  on glivec.
I hope this emil finds everyone  well
Shannon


Marty Gartenberg  <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> >: Nov 09  
07:46AM -0500 

Hi Shannon, there is a study called the STIM  that is going on in the UK and
it talks about Imatinib being stopped.  It is kind of lengthily however it
does go into detail.
Good luck  to you, and I have always said there will be a cure for CML in
our  lifetimes.
If you follow any of my posts I always end them with two  numbers. They are
18 which is the symbol for life.
18's to you  Shannon
Marty
PS Shannon I encourage you to post any time that you  like. There will
usually be someone that may be able to answer your  questions. Besides that
we are all here to learn from and help each  other
Can Imatinib Be Stopped?

Goodwin, Peter
Article  Outline
[image: Collapse Box]Author Information

ASH Abstracts  186 and 187

SAN FRANCISCO—The early promise of the tyrosine  kinase inhibitor (TKI)
imatinib for treating chronic myeloid leukemia  (CML) has continued to be
fulfilled following the release of  seven-year follow-up data at the ASH
Annual Meeting here from the  International Randomized Study of Interferon
versus STI 571  (imatinib) (IRIS) with 553 patients.

With diminishing rates of  progression each year beyond year three, the case
for stopping  imatinib altogether was also discussed at the meeting
following  release of results from two studies in which the drug  was
discontinued among patients who had achieved enduring complete  molecular
responses to it for more than two years.

IRIS  investigator Stephen G. O'Brien MD, PhD, Senior Lecturer  in
Experimental Hematology at Northern Institute for Cancer Research  of
University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, gave the latest IRIS  results to a
packed audience at the meeting, showing an event-free  survival rate of 81%,
freedom from progression to accelerated  phase/blast crisis of 93%, and an
estimated overall survival rate of  86%, from the standard dose of 400 mg
imatinib daily.

And in  the presentation that followed, François-Xavier Mahon, MD,  
Professor
at Victor Ségalen University in Bordeaux, France, released  early data from
the Stop Imatinib (STIM) study, noting that  remissions continued in about
half of the patients after  investigational discontinuation of imatinib
therapy—with a  non-significant trend showing that patients previously
treated with  interferon were more likely to be among those whose  
remissions
persisted without drugs.

Dr. O'Brien said that in  IRIS the projected cytogenetic response rate to
imatinib (by Kaplan  Meyer analysis) was 82%, and that after seven years of
follow-up 60%  of patients were still on imatinib, with 57% of all patients
still in  complete cytogenetic response (CCR).

The impression that CCR  holds the key to a “cure” of CML was strengthened
by comments he made  after his talk:

“It seems that if you maintain your CCR for, say,  three years, the chance
of regressing at that point is essentially  zero. So, achieving a CCR is, I
guess, what we call a ‘safe haven’  for the majority of patients: If you've
achieved that and sustained  it for, say, three years, you're in pretty good
shape and the chance  of progressing is virtually nil,” he said.
Back to Top
<http://journals.lww.com/oncology-times/Fulltext/2009/02101/Can_Imatinib_Be_
Stopped_.1.aspx#  
<http://journals.lww.com/oncology-times/Fulltext/2009/02101/Can_Imatinib_Be_Stopped_.1.aspx>
  >
| Article Outline
Diminishing Rates of Relapse

These  words reflect the diminishing rates of relapse observed in the  IRIS
study in successive years. Rates of progression to accelerate  phase or
blast crisis each year were low at all times—with rates  rising in the first
two years (1.5% in the first year; 2.8% in the  second year) and then
diminishing after that (1.6%, 0.9%, 0.5%, 0%,  0.4% in years 3, 4, 5, 6, and
7, respectively)—with only a single  patient having disease progression to
accelerate phase or blast  crisis between years six and seven.
[image: Figure.  FRANOIS-XAVI...]
Figure. FRANOIS-XAVI...
Image Tools

The  total annual event rates, including loss of molecular  complete
remission and death, were similarly low (3.3% and 7.5%) in  years one and
two, and diminished thereafter (4.8%, 1.7%, 0.8%, 0.3%,  and 2.0% in years
three through seven).

These data only apply,  of course, to the majority of patients who prove
sensitive to  imatinib, and Dr. O'Brien noted that many patients who are
resistant  or refractory to the TKI are now candidates for other drugs and
in  some cases, allogeneic transplantation.

Dr. O'Brien summed up his  feelings about the current state of the art
concerning imatinib  therapy for CML: “I think it's encouraging on two
fronts. One is that  there's nothing new in years six and seven to cause
alarm in terms of  safety events. And the second is—particularly in patients
who  achieved a complete cytogenetic response—I think we can be  very
reassured that the vast majority—especially if you have that CCR  for three
years—are doing extremely well, with very few of those  progressing.”
Back to Top
<http://journals.lww.com/oncology-times/Fulltext/2009/02101/Can_Imatinib_Be_
Stopped_.1.aspx#  
<http://journals.lww.com/oncology-times/Fulltext/2009/02101/Can_Imatinib_Be_Stopped_.1.aspx>
  >
| Article Outline
STIM Study

Encouraging data on  long-term remission of CML among patients treated with
imatinib gave  rise to the French initiative to conduct a pilot study with
15  patients looking at stopping imatinib, and following this  the
multicenter STIM study with 50 patients, which began in July 2007  but which
has already yielded early—but provocative—evidence that  remission from CML
can continue even after imatinib is  stopped.

Dr. Mahon said that patients were recruited into these  studies only if they
had received imatinib for at least three years  and achieved sustained
complete molecular remission (CMR) for two  years before experimentally
stopping the drug.

The definition  of sustained CMR was strict: BCR-ABL/ABL had to be below a
detection  threshold corresponding to a 5-log reduction (undetectable  
signal
using RQ-PCR) for at least two years. Molecular relapse was  defined as
RQ-PCR positivity detected in two successive assays, and  patients who
relapsed were then retreated with imatinib  (successfully) at a dose of 400
mg daily.

In the latest  follow-up of the pilot study, Dr. Mahon said that seven out
of 15  patients had relapse within six months and all were restored to  CMR
by re-treatment with imatinib. The remaining eight patients were  still in
CMR a median of 37 months after stopping the  drug.

All of the patients in the pilot study had been treated  with interferon
before receiving imatinib, most of them responding to  it. This raised the
suggestion—which Dr. Mahon discussed in his talk  at the ASH meeting—that
interferon may have conferred a benefit among  patients who were
subsequently treated with imatinib.

Half of  the patients in the STIM study had been pretreated with  
interferon,
and some provocative—but as yet not statistically  significant—data have
emerged showing an advantage among those who  had previously received
interferon before going on to imatinib  therapy.

By July 2008, 10 of the 15 patients who were still in  CMR had received
prior interferon. The latest assessment from a slide  Dr. Mahon presented
showed that 27 out of 49 patients followed for  more than six months had had
disease relapse; 14 of these had  received only imatinib and the remaining
13 had been previously  treated with interferon, while only two of the seven
patients in STIM  who have so far continued in CMR for 14 months had been
treated with  imatinib alone.

Dr. Mahon summed up his interim conclusions by  stating that they have
confirmed that CMR can be sustained after  stopping imatinib, and that
although there seems to be an [as yet  statistically unconfirmed] advantage
among the patients who received  interferon, it is possible to stop the drug
in patients with  sustained CMR even among those treated with imatinib 
alone.

He  reported that the probability of survival without molecular relapse  
nine
months after discontinuing imatinib was 46%, with the curve  looking flat,
so far, out to 15 months. Importantly, the STIM study  found that all
patients were sensitive after imatinib  re-challenge.
Back to Top
<http://journals.lww.com/oncology-times/Fulltext/2009/02101/Can_Imatinib_Be_
Stopped_.1.aspx#  
<http://journals.lww.com/oncology-times/Fulltext/2009/02101/Can_Imatinib_Be_Stopped_.1.aspx>
  >
| Article Outline
‘Recurring Question’

When Dr.  O'Brien was asked for a comment on Dr. Mahon's conclusion from  
the
initial pilot study and the early results from the STIM study, he  said,
“I'm fascinated by it. There's probably a bit of a cultural  difference, I
think, because most of my patients in the UK—when I  suggest
[stopping]—don't want to hand their pills back, and want to  carry on.
[image: Figure. STEPHEN G. O...]
Figure. STEPHEN G.  O...
Image Tools

“I think that's driven by the fact that they  are tolerating the drug well.
There are no safety concerns emerging  with the long-term follow-up. And
it's obviously having good efficacy  in them. But this is a recurring
question that I think we'll see more  and more of—and the French study is
very important.”
Back to  Top
<http://journals.lww.com/oncology-times/Fulltext/2009/02101/Can_Imatinib_Be_
Stopped_.1.aspx#  
<http://journals.lww.com/oncology-times/Fulltext/2009/02101/Can_Imatinib_Be_Stopped_.1.aspx>
  >
| Article Outline
Low Toxicities

In the UK, he noted,  the preference for continuing imatinib could be
explained by  relatively low toxicities, which were not a significant
barrier to  its use, with neutropenia and thrombocytopenia being minor
toxicities  that are merely irritating over time.

“GI toxicity like diarrhea,  for example, and a feeling of fatigue and
malaise, sometimes, and  muscle cramps can be troublesome in some patients
over the years. But  they're usually minor toxicities which, after many
years, become  rather wearing, rather than major toxicities,” he said.

The  bottom line for clinicians treating their patients with CML,  according
to Dr. O'Brien's interpretation of his IRIS results, is  that imatinib at
400 mg remains the current standard for first-line  drug therapy, even
though there are exciting data among patient  cohorts treated with nilotinib
and dasatinib first-line, with  cytogenetic response rates in excess of 95%.

“I think—for the  future—where we're going is to do comparative Phase III
studies with  the tyrosine kinase inhibitors in newly diagnosed patients to
see if  we can improve on imatinib. Because although the imatinib data  is
reassuring, it's clear that at six or seven years, perhaps a third  of
patients are not continuing on imatinib,” he  said.

*Supported by funding from Genentech BioOncology and Biogen  Idec.*

© 2009 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins,  Inc.



Shannon L <[email protected]  <mailto:[email protected]> >: 
Nov 09 03:52PM -0800  

Hi Everyone
Thankyou Marty for the research information  it was very informative, so 
they are combining stopping with  interferon unfortunately I can't tolerate 
it I remember the first  time before glivec.
I hope everyone is having a wonderful  day.

On Sunday, November 9, 2014 10:58:55 PM UTC+11, Shannon L  wrote:


Richard H <[email protected]  <mailto:[email protected]> >: Nov 09 
09:33PM -0800  

What a great record. You didn't indicate how much Gleevec  you are taking. 
I have read that several CMLers are taking reduced  amounts and reaming in 
remission. I have seen a post by a lady that  said see was very petite and 
she was only taking 100mg instead of  400mg. 
I don't know the percentage or of a combined results From the  different 
studies I read sometime ago I believe the range you have  is consistent 
with 
what I have read. You can read my results below.  My ONC told be I needed 
to end my almost 6 year vacation and I am  trying to requalify for a lower 
copay for Bosutinib. I have tested  and they found no mutation. I have 
studied the side effects and I  will be meeting with a Nurse to go over the 
side effects. Due to my  other problems I am concerned about all the 
interactions with those  Meds. 
I hope this has helped you.

Richard H.

Dxd  2/2003 

400mg Gleevec 3/2003

Undetectable  11/03

RT-PCR negative 11/04

QT-PCR .003 11/05

RBC  8.

Gleevec Vacation 11/06-6/07 

Iron infusion  11/06

Transfusions 12/06-5/07

QT-PCR .007

Gleevec  1/08 -5/08

Procrit 8/08-11/08 

Gleevec Vacation  7/08-Present

QT-PCR .003 4/09

QT-PCR .0015  6/09

QT-PCR .0021 9/09

QT-PCR .0028 1/10

QT-PCR  .001 4/10

QT-PCR .00468 10/10

QT-PCR 1.049%  2/11

QT-PCR .0612% 8/11

QT-PCR 2.616 % 2/12

QT-PCR  2.410% 8/12

RT-PCR 9.183% 4/13

RT-PCR 4.57%  6/13

RT-PCR 10.183% 10/13

RT-PCR 10.577%  2/14

RT-PCR 16.050% 5/14

On Sunday, November 9, 2014  5:58:55 AM UTC-6, Shannon L wrote:



Shannon L  <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>  
>: Nov 09 10:56PM -0800 

Hi Richard H

Yes Glivec  400 mg has been good to me I have been very stable on the drug, 
Wow  6 years off glivec thank you so much for sharing your results just a  
question in your first holiday off glivec you had an iron injection  is 
this 
because of cml? I am contemplating a small break as my  stomach problems 
seem to be increasing and are at times very  debilitating. I know I have 
been on many meds prior to glivec (chemo  twice, cytarabine, hydroxia, and 
interferon) and Im sure my body  sometimes struggles with it all.

On Sunday, November 9, 2014  10:58:55 PM UTC+11, Shannon L wrote:

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<http://groups.google.com/group/cmlhope/t/22ca310a00448c54?utm_source=digest
&utm_medium=email>  Glivec and studies of stopping the drug  


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