Prescription Medications - L

Double Dose of Gleevec Battles Intestinal Tumors

Imatinib is approved worldwide for treating patients with GIST, tumors that don't respond to conventional chemotherapy, the researchers said. This study found that a single daily dose of the drug is sufficient to induce a therapeutic response and that a doubling of the daily dose may slightly improve patients' progression-free survival.

The study included 946 people with metastatic GIST. They were randomly assigned to receive a 400 milligram dose of imatinib either once or twice a day.

After two years, 50 percent of those taking the double dose, and 56 percent of those taking the single dose, were alive and free of disease progression. About four months after the start of treatment was the optimum time for therapeutic effect in both groups, the scientists said.