In Two Different Cancers, Success With Druqs New And Old

摘要

No fewer than five papers in the current Top Ten relate to malignant disease, so let us focus for the moment on just two of the newcomers. Papers #8 and #9 are very different, and not just because of the different diagnoses. The treatment options for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) have been revolutionized by the arrival of the drug imatinib. This illness is caused by a chromosomal abnormality that results in an abnormally active form of the enzyme tyrosine kinase, and imatinib is an inhibitor specifically aimed at this target. As with any drug, imatinib is not always tolerated. Also, despite the impressive clinical improvements achieved by patients taking this drug, a few leukemia cells stay behind and are prone to further mutation in the relevant gene (known as BCR-ABL) so that relapses are possible. In a commentary on paper #8, Dr.