Skip Navigation


Journal of the National Cancer Institute Advance Access originally published online on June 24, 2008
JNCI Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2008 100(13):912-913; doi:10.1093/jnci/djn230
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
100/13/912    most recent
djn230v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Tuma, R. S.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Tuma, R. S.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© Oxford University Press 2008.

NEWS

Disease Progression in Some Cancers May Be Due to Low Blood Levels of Targeted Therapies

Rabiya S. Tuma

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Oncologists have traditionally treated patients with drugs that are delivered intravenously and intermittently. By contrast, imatinib and many other molecularly targeted agents are taken as a pill every day.

That difference means that oncologists are facing a whole new range of challenges. Not only does patient adherence to a drug regimen come into play, but food, digestion, antacids, and drug interactions can all affect how much of a drug is absorbed. Results from several studies suggest that oncologists may improve clinical outcomes in some patients by monitoring the level of the drug in their blood.

Imatinib is broadly effective in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and in gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). However, data from several studies suggest that patients who have low blood concentrations of the drug are more likely to have disease progression than patients who maintain a higher concentration between doses. The low levels between doses may . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Imatinib Troughs in CML

Troughs May Affect GIST Outcomes

Behavior May Play Key Role


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?