Patient information about UK clinical trial of Glivec (imatinib), 2001

Patient information letter inviting participation in the STI571 clinical trial of the drug Glivec (imatinib) in adult patients patients with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML), issued to Doreen Eggleton being treated for CML, issued by Hammersmith Hospital in 2001.

Doreen Eggleton was diagnosed with the blood cancer Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML) in 1998. At the time treatment options for this disease were limited, however in 2001 Doreen became one of the participants on the first UK clinical trial of a new, effective targeted therapy drug called Glivec (imatinib). This letter to Doreen, issued in 2001, gives the information inviting her to participate in the STI571 clinical trial of the drug Glivec (imatinib). Clinical trials are the way the safety and efficacy of new treatments can be compared to existing therapies.

Glivec (imatinib) is a type of cancer growth blocker called a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). Tyrosine kinases are proteins that cells use to signal to each other to grow. They act as chemical messengers and blocking them stops the cancer cells growing.