Researchers said the study was the largest to evaluate Gleevec in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The five-year overall survival of CML patients who received Gleevec as initial therapy was 89% when considering deaths from all causes. However, when deaths from causes unrelated to CML or prior transplantation are excluded, the overall survival rate was 95% at 60 months.
The results also showed that responses to therapy with Gleevec continued to increase substantially over five years, while the yearly risk of progression to advanced disease declined to 0.6% in the fifth year.
“These data underscore that Gleevec continues to support positive outcomes in CML with the opportunity for patients to achieve better outcomes the longer they take the therapy,” said David Epstein, president and CEO of Novartis Oncology.
Gleevec continued to be generally well-tolerated as initial drug therapy for CML at the five-year follow-up.
In five years, Gleevec has now been approved in the EU for six diseases, including two solid tumors and four blood disorders with molecular targets known to be inhibited by the drug. In the US, Gleevec has now been approved for seven diseases, including two solid tumors and five blood disorders with molecular targets known to be inhibited by the drug.