According to results presented at the 2006 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, treatment with Sprycel® (dasatinib) provides superior outcomes compared to escalated doses of Gleevec® (imatinib) in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who have stopped responding to previous treatment with standard doses of Gleevec.
Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a cancer that originates in the immune cells. It affects approximately 4,600 people annually in the U.S. In the case of CML, large numbers of young immune cells do not mature, resulting in an excess accumulation of these cells. These leukemia cells then crowd the bone marrow and blood, suppressing formation and function of other blood cells normally present in these areas. In addition, the leukemia cells cannot perform their function properly, leaving patients susceptible to infection.
