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Imatinib
About Imatinib
A breakthrough targeted cancer therapy. Imatinib or Gleevec treats chronic myeloid leukemia by specifically inhibiting the BCR ABL fusion protein that drives the cancer. Before imatinib, CML was usually fatal within several years. Imatinib transformed CML into a manageable chronic condition with near normal life expectancy for many patients. It was hailed as a miracle drug and became the model for targeted cancer therapy. Imatinib also treats gastrointestinal stromal tumors. The drug demonstrated that understanding cancer genetics could lead to highly effective treatments.
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