FYI: Gleevec Linked To Heart Failure

[Guest guest]

Hi all,

Here's a story that's sure to be of ongoing interest. (Apparently in an

effort to include all possible combinations, the report has 3 different

spellings of Gleevec! :-) )

G.

www.cmlsupport.com

www.upstairswindow.org

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Study: Cancer Drug May Pose Heart Danger

Jul 23, 1:02 PM (ET)

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID

WASHINGTON (AP) - A successful cancer-fighting drug may also damage the

heart, although a researcher says leukemia patients who need Gleevec

should not abandon it.

While effectively treating cancer, Gleevac can lead to heart failure in

some patients, said Dr. Force, who teaches medicine at Jefferson

Medical College of Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

His study, published Sunday in the online edition of the journal Nature

Medicine, was prompted by reports that 10 patients taking Gleevec for

chronic myelogenous leukemia developed severe congestive heart failure.

Gleevec, sold under the Glivec in some countries, had worldwide sales of

$1.2 billion in the first six months of this year, according to the

manufacturer, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp.

" Gleevec is a wonderful drug and patients with these diseases need to be

on it. It's a lifesaving drug for sure, " Force said in a telephone

interview.

" This is not a Vioxx situation, " Force added, referring to Merck & Co.

(MRK)'s painkiller that was pulled from the market because of heart side

effects.

Force said he is trying to call attention to the fact that Gleevec and

other similar drugs coming along could have significant effects on the

heart and that doctors need to be aware of this and watch for symptoms.

These patients can be helped with heart treatment, he said.

Novartis cited the limited data and said further research was needed to

better understand the relationship between such studies and their

potential impact on monitoring patients who are on the drug.

The company said in a written statement that the prescribing information

with the drug includes data on heart problems. In addition, the drug

maker said clinical trials and postmarketing safety data have shown that

the incidence of heart failures among people taking drug is " extremely

rare. "

Novartis said Force's work does not change " the positive benefit/risk

ratio of Glivec for thousands of patients being treated for cancer and

other life-threatening diseases. "

Force said the 10 patients with heart failure were taking Gleevec at the

University of Texas' M.D. Cancer Center in Houston and had no

heart problems before going on the drug.

He said doctors took baseline measures of the patients' left ventricular

heart function and determined that heart failure developed in these

patients between two months and 14 months after they began Gleevec.

Dr. Jean-Bernard Durand of M.D. discussed these cases with

Force at a meeting and suggested they try to determine the cause of this

problem, Force said.

Gleevec targets three specific proteins, including one called ABL.

In chronic myelogenous leukemia, genes known as ABL and BCR become fused

and produce a hybrid BCR-ABL enzyme that is always active. The

overactive BCR-ABL, in turn, drives the excessive proliferation of white

blood cells that is the hallmark of leukemia.

Using viruses that produced for normal ABL and a Gleevec-resistant

mutant in laboratory studies and in mice, the researchers found that

Gleevec inhibited the normal enzyme but not the mutant, and the mutant

ABL " rescued " heart cells from the toxic effects of Gleevec.

The research was supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood

Institute, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, the Finnish Heart

Foundation and the Paavo Nurmi Foundation.