Gleevec is a tablet treatment for people with stomach cancer, cancer of the small intestines and leukemia that is also being used in a trial of personalized medicine for patients with colorectal cancer.
If you have any of these types of cancer and you have been offered Gleevec, here is a summary of the drug to help you decide if it’s right for you.
Who Gleevec Tablets are meant for:
1. Patients with Philadelphia chromosome–positive chronic myeloid leukemia
2. Adult patients with relapsed or refractory Ph+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia
3. Adult patients with myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative diseases
4. Adult patients with aggressive systemic mastocytosis
5. Adult patients with hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) and/or chronic eosinophilic leukemia
6. Adult patients with unresectable, recurrent, and/or metastatic dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans
7. Patients with positive gastrointestinal stromal tumors that cannot be surgically removed or have spread to other parts of the body.
8. Patients who had their gastrointestinal stromal tumors removed and are post-operative.
Side-Effects of Gleevec
Common side-effects that you could get as a result of this drug are:
Minor fluid retention, abdominal pain, muscle cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, fatigue, rash, hemorrhage.
Less common side-effects include:
Low levels of certain blood cells, liver disorders, low levels of the thyroid hormone, skin blistering, stomach or intestinal irritation, stomach or intestinal perforation (hole) which could be life threatening, severe fluid retention including swelling of the lower legs, eyes, lungs and heart. In rare cases, this can kill you. This product can also cause heart failure. Using this medicine can cause liver, kidney and heart toxicities and immune system suppression if you use it for a long period of time.
After the safety studies were completed, there were also reports of compression of the heart due to fluid retention and sudden lung failure. These events, including some fatalities, may or may not have been drug related.
What Should I do if I get a Side-Effect from my Medication?
If you experience fluid retention, your doctor may give you diuretics to counter this problem, or temporarily stop your treatment.
You will be given regular blood tests to monitor for blood disorders. If any are found, your doctor will reduce the amount of medicine you are given. In a severe case, he will stop your treatment. You will also be given liver function tests to check the health of your liver.
If you have a heart condition you should consider carefully whether this is the right treatment for you. If you decide to take the treatment, you will be monitored closely for any signs of heart failure.
Medicines You Should Not Take with Gleevec
Over the counter cold and pain medicine, such as acetaminophen
Medicines containing warfarin, rifampin, erythromycin, phenytoin
The herbal remedy, St. John's wort
You must not drink grapefruit juice during your treatment as this can interfere with the action of the drug.
Who Should Not Take Gleevec
Pregnant or breast feeding mothers. This product causes fetal harm and has caused severe reactions in breast feeding babies as it passes through mother’s milk. Any sexually active woman taking this medicine should ensure she has reliable contraception.
Tell your doctor if you have any history of heart disease, as there may be a more suitable medicine for you.
Source: www.gleevec.com, Novartis.
Joanna is a freelance health writer for The Mother magazine and Suite 101 with a column on infertility, http://infertility.suite101.com/. She is author of the book, 'Breast Milk: A Natural Immunisation,' and co-author of an educational resource on disabled parenting, in addition to running a charity for people damaged by vaccines or medical mistakes.