86% of leukemia patients still alive after 7 years with Glivec

Nearly 86% of patients with a life-threatening leukemia are still alive seven years after diagnosis when treated with Novartis' Glivec (imatinib).

The Swiss drug major noted that the trial is the largest ever conducted in newly-diagnosed patients with Philadelphia chromosome positive chronic myeloid leukemia and demonstrated the longest overall survival observed to date in this disease area.

Data presented at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting in San Francisco from the seven-year update of the landmark IRIS study also demonstrate an extremely low rate of disease progression. Between years six and seven, only one patient progressed to a more advanced stage of the disease, Novartis noted.