Imatinib (Oral Route)

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Imatinib (Oral Route)

US Brand Names

Description

Imatinib is used to prevent and stop the growth of cancer cells. It helps your body fight against a type of cancer called gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) or Philadelphia chromosome positive chronic myeloid leukemia (Ph+ CML) in blast crisis (BC), accelerated phase (AP), or chronic phase (CP) after other treatments, such as interferon-alpha, have failed, in adult patients. CML is a disease in which your body makes too many abnormal white blood cells, which can cause you to become sick more often and to feel weak or tired. Imatinib helps your body stop making these abnormal white blood cells. GIST is a group of cancer cells that start growing in the wall of the stomach, intestines, or rectum. Imatinib helps your body stop making these abnormal cells. Imatinib is also used as an additional treatment in adult patients that have their GIST tumors completely removed.

Imatinib is also used to treat other conditions in adult patients such as Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) or myeloproliferative diseases (MPD), aggressive systemic mastocytosis (ASM), hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES), chronic eosinophilic leukemia (CEL), and dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP).

This medicine is also used to treat a newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome positive chronic myeloid leukemia (Ph+ CML) in chronic phase in adult and pediatric patients.

Before you begin treatment with imatinib, you and your doctor should talk about the benefits this medicine will do as well as the possible risks of using it.

This medicine is available only with your doctor's prescription.

Once a medicine has been approved for marketing for a certain use, experience may show that it is also useful for other medical problems. Although this use is not included in product labeling, imatinib is used in certain patients with the following medical condition:

• Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Philadelphia chromosome-positive, newly diagnosed, as part of combination chemotherapy.

This product is available in the following dosage forms:

• Tablet
• Capsule

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