© 2001 by Oxford University Press
Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Vol. 93, No. 13, 970-973,
July 4, 2001
© 2001 Oxford University Press
NEWS |
STI571 Revolution: Can the Newer Targeted Drugs Measure Up?
Not since the interferon craze of the early 1980s has a cancer drug captured the public imagination like Novartiss STI571. Under the trade name GleevecTM, it won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on May 10 for treating chronic myeloid leukemia after a lightning-fast 2 1/2-month review (see sidebar, p. 972).
Network TV special reports and a Time cover story trumpeted the drug. American Society of Clinical Oncology President Larry Norton, M.D., in the New York Times, called STI571 "the beginning of a sea changeand I am speaking conservativelyin the way we practice medicine."
The drug is amazingly effective: In a phase I trial, 98% of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia achieved a complete hematologic response, and phase II results have been almost as stunning. But only about 4,500 people in the United States develop CML each year. The burning question: Will
Questions Remain