I am surprised that you do not think the Mayo Clinic doctors state that long-term Gleevec can affect immunity, it says there in black and white. It is clear that some studies showed immune system of patients can be compromised by Gleevec and some do not. Whether this translates from the petridish to humans remains to be seen and we certainly have to look at more patients than Roy and you. I am sure CML experts will be studying this in the future as use of vaccines in MRD will be affected to some extent by this. Trey, you do not have to WORRY about this, you just need to be aware of what CML research is saying. And if necessary, take precautions. Like with the heart and Gleevec issue, the incidence being low does not mean we sweep it under the carpet, we remain aware of some findings and if a patient has symptoms of shortness of breath, severe edema, does not hurt to do an echocardiogram. It really is the same kind of thing. Similarly, a patient experiencing increased levels of infection after Gleevec therapy may want to discuss whether Gleevec compromises the immune system and every bit of research tells something and is of importance. We do have a few patients who do have more infections after Gleevec therapy and this may be a possible explanation for this cohort of patients. The good news is that the latest from ASH 2006 reports that infections on Gleevec are decreasing with time. Do remember that all CML patients will not have same side-effects and similarly may not have similar compromise of immune system. There is enough data from MD Anderson Cancer Center saying that Gleevec patients have more propensity to shingles. Why? It gives pause for thought. However, so far, Gleevec has been remarkably well tolerated by the majority and has allowed majority of patients to lead normal lives. A few, it has not, there are patients I know who are on disability so they cannot really agree with you that everything is normal. But, majority are doing well.
I really was not aware that anyone on this thread said they were scared of each and every germ. Mike had two differing medical opinions and I thought it fit to give some of the abstracts. He can show them to both the doctors and see what they say. We will all learn. Anjana --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ [CMLHope] A support group of http://cmlhope.com ------------------------------------------------- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "CMLHope" group. To post to this group, send email to CMLHope@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/CMLHope -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
