Switching to Sutent

Bad news from Boston today. Gleevec is no longer working to control the growth of my Dad's cancer. We actually knew this time would come; it was never clear how long Gleevec would work, and he's had to have several tumors ablated recently. There are new tumors in the house according to today's MRI. One of them is too close to my Dad's heart for a safe ablation. So we are giving up on Gleevec and switching to Sutent.

Let's pause a moment in honor of Gleevec, the compound that kept my Dad alive for 2 years with a basically normal life. Here's to you, Gleevec. I had a glass of wine in your honor; uncharacteristically, I didn't feel like a second one. No disrespect, Gleevec. You rock. Go extend the lives of some more people. You've done your bit.

Truth be told, Gleevec, your side effects were beginning to really suck. Nothing compared to chemo or radiation, bruising like ripe fruit, losing appetite, and having skin peel off must not have been pleasant for Pops. Onward and upward: diarrhea and fatigue will have to do from here on.

Apparently, GIST learns to work around the mechanism of Gleevec, which is manufactured by Novartis. The second line of treatment is Sutent, which is manufacutred by Pfizer.

Cracking the Code

TTP = Time To Progression (this has been part of our lexicon since diagnosis in 2007)
OS = Overall Survival.

Advanced GIST after Gleevec failure has a TTP of 41 weeks and an OS of 75 weeks. 20% survive beyond 5 years.