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Because previous studies with medical therapy have shown that survival of patients with a low level or with no detectable Philadelphia chromosome is considerably better than for those who have not had the Philadelphia chromosome reduced or eliminated.

ANNOUNCER: Patients must understand there can be setbacks, that drugs sometimes loose their efficacy.

JUDY OREM: And I'd taken interferon for two years, and they said that it really wasn't working very well. It had made some progress getting rid of the Philadelphia chromosome, but not a lot.

ANNOUNCER: Judy Orem entered a clinical trial for the drug imatinib, and she responded well. In three weeks, her hematologic tests were normal. In nine months, she was showing a good cytogenetic response.

Imantinib, known also by the brand name Gleevec blocks a protein in the leukemia cells, preventing them from multiplying. The drug has been approved only for treatment of CML when other therapies have failed. But a recent trial shows Gleevec is very effective for newly diagnosed patients as well.

STEVE MACKINNON, MD: The hematological response rates are greater than 90 percent and the complete cytogenetic response rates are between 60 and 70 percent in the treatment. And this is much better than any of the previous therapies that have been used for CML.

ANNOUNCER: CML patients quickly learn different drugs have different impact on their quality of life. Interferon requires daily injections and often brings about aches, fever and fatigue. Gleevec is taken as a pill, and generally has easily tolerated side effects, like weight gain, and puffiness around the eyes.

JUDY OREM: Now, those side effects are basically nothing by comparison. I have the energy. You know, I feel good. I don't sleep as much as I used to, but then I get more done.

STEVEN O'BRIEN, MD, PhD: One of the most striking things I've seen over the last few years in patients who are coming into my clinic who have been on interferon, for example and who are now on imatinib, is that they are transformed in may cases - going back to work, feeling well, going on holiday whereas they wouldn't have been doing those sorts of things on interferon.

ANNOUNCER: There are many effective therapies for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. Choosing among them is often difficult. Experience shows, a patient does best when she understands the disease, and collaborates with her doctor on treatment decisions.

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