Often, in the LRG email community, members have been known to offer suggestions on everything from what to bring with you to the hospital to managing side-effects. Louise Ladd is one of those people and [...]
This month, Novartis Pharmaceuticals (maker of Gleevec) launched a new website designed to help optimize the outcome of GIST patients taking Gleevec. Some of the featured content is about blood level testing for GIST. In addition, the website prominently links to the Avantix labs website (www.bloodleveltesting.com) for testing Gleevec blood levels in CML and GIST.
Gleevec was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to prevent Gastrointestinal Cancer(imatinib mesylate) for a new indication. This will keeping cancer from growing in patients following surgical removal of a gastrointestinal stromal tumor [...]
GIST patients face many decisions about their treatment. Many GIST patients have surgery to remove a primary tumor and do not have detectable metastases at the time of surgery. This large group of patients faces the decision of whether or not to take Gleevec to try to prevent or delay a recurrence. Adjuvant therapy refers to additional treatment given after a main mode of therapy (the main treatment is usually surgery). For example, Gleevec given after surgery in hopes of preventing or delaying a recurrence is called adjuvant therapy.
