Gleevec was designed to affect the underlying cause of most cases of Ph+ CML—the Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome.* The Ph chromosome produces an abnormal protein, called the Bcr-Abl protein, that tells the bone marrow to keep making abnormal white blood cells. Gleevec blocks the signal given by this protein. This should stop new abnormal cells from forming.

How Ph+ CML starts

Cell with Ph chromosome creates a signal that causes too many abnormal white blood cells to be made.

Normal red blood cells and platelets are crowded out and do not grow in healthy numbers.

After successful treatment with Gleevec

Gleevec turns off the signal produced by the Ph chromosome.

Abnormal cells should die, and normal cells can grow in healthy numbers.

Please note that not all patients receiving Gleevec will respond as shown.

*Gleevec is also known to inhibit other receptors in the body that may affect non-CML related cells.

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GIST is a tumor that grows in the connective tissue between muscle layers in the digestive tract. All GISTs can become cancerous. The tumor almost always starts when a gene called kit develops a mutation (defect) and forms a protein called Kit. The abnormal Kit protein sends out a signal that causes the cell to multiply out of control, forming a tumor. Gleevec works by blocking, or turning off, the signal from the Kit protein, so that GIST cells should stop growing.

How GIST starts

1. A Kit gene develops a mutation
2. The Kit protein becomes too active.
3. Its "signal" stays on all the time.

4. This causes cells to multiply out of control, forming a tumor.

After successful treatment with Gleevec

Gleevec attaches to the Kit protein and turns off the signal that causes GIST cells to grow and divide. However, Gleevec can also target other proteins not involved in causing GIST.

Tumor cells should stop growing, which may cause the tumor to shrink. Please note that there are no studies showing that symptoms related to the disease improved or that patients lived longer.

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