Which is Better for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia?

Gleevec and Sprycel being tested in British trial

(RxWiki News) Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) has some amazing treatment options for patients. The disease has proven to respond well to three drugs known as tyrosine kinase inhibitors. An ongoing trial is looking to see which of two of these drugs is most effective.

ST1571 Prospective International Randomised Trial or SPIRIT 2 is an ongoing trial that's recruiting 800 participants to see whether one medication is better than another in treating  patients with newly-diagnosed chronic phase Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML). The trial is looking at Gleevec (imatanib) and Sprycel (dasatinib), both of which work to slow the growth of cancer cells.

"Work with your doctor to find the best CML medication for you."

This Phase III trial is being conducted throughout England. It's comparing which of the following has the highest efficacy - Gleevec 400 mg daily, or Sprycel 100 mg daily.

The trial began in August 2008 and is expected to run at least through 2012.

The primary endpoint is to compare Event Free Survival (EFS) between the two arms at 5 years.

Patients being enrolled in the trial are newly diagnosed (3 months or less) and have been treated with only Hydrea and Droxia (hydroxycarbamide) and/or Xagrid or Agrylin (anagrelide).

DailyRx will keep track of the results of this trial.

Review Date: 
December 1, 2011