April 2012
- LRG mourns the loss of a great friend, Jeroen Pit
- GDOL Update: Speakers announced
- LRG Research Team meets in Leuven, Belgium: leaves with renewed energy & commitment to finding the cure for GIST
- Meet our new Montana local rep: Dirk Niebaum
- Cellular origin of GIST from the “good” cells’ perspective
- Alianza GIST meets in Miami
- And they’re off! 1st ‘Harness a Cure’ is a success
- NJ GIST gathering serves up support & smoothies
- NoCal GISTers meet!
- New report finds most hospital errors go unreported
- Happy Cancerversary to Brenda Bannon!
- Thomas G. Overley, 1952-2012: Toledo lawyer played guitar, sang in group
- Durham lived life with passion and pride
- Did You Hear? Did You Know?
- Arizona GISTers meet!
- Spunky Texan fought GIST bravely
- Calendar
Archive
August 2009
Did you Know...
Gleevec & white blood cell counts
Written by
Jerry Call
In phase III trials, low white blood cell counts were often associated with a better response to Gleevec.
According to the Gleevec prescribing information for GIST patients on 400 mg:
If the ANC (absolute neutrophil count) falls below 1.0 and/or platelets falls below 50:
1. Stop Gleevec until ANC >1.5 and platelets >75
2. Resume treatment with Gleevec at the original starting dose of 400 mg
3. If recurrence of ANC <1.0 and/or platelets <50, repeat step 1 and resume Gleevec at a reduced dose of 300 mg
One theory suggests that low counts may have something to do with how Gleevec is distributed in the body. Another possibility is that the patient may just be getting more drug into their system than the
average person. This can be checked and monitored over time with Gleevec plasma testing and the LRG encourages plasma testing.
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