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

Patient information letter inviting participation in an expanded STI571 clinical trial issued to Doreen Eggleton being treated for Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia (CML), by Hammersmith Hospital in 2001. The letter is titled: 'An expanded access protocol of (clinical trial) STI571 in patients with Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) who are hematologically or cytogentically resistant or refractory to Interferon-Alpha or intolerant of Interferon-Alpha'.

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, which was being expanded to include additional patients (expanding the trial of Glivec from 3950 patients to an additional 2000 patients). Clinical trials are the way the safety and efficacy of new treatments can be compared to exisiting 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.