chemistry

Imatinib

Imatinib is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Imatinib rather than just read about it. In short: Imatinib, sold under the brand names Gleevec and Glivec (both marketed worldwide by Novartis) among others, is an oral targeted therapy medication used to treat cancer. Imatinib is a small molecule inhibitor targeting multiple tyrosine kinases such as CSF1R, ABL, c-KIT, FLT3, and PDGFR-β.

Key takeaways

Imatinib belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Imatinib to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Imatinib from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Imatinib, sold under the brand names Gleevec and Glivec (both marketed worldwide by Novartis) among others, is an oral targeted therapy medication used to treat cancer. Imatinib is a small molecule inhibitor targeting multiple tyrosine kinases such as CSF1R, ABL, c-KIT, FLT3, and PDGFR-β. Specifically, it is used for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) that are Philadelphia chromosome–positive (Ph+), certain types of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES), chronic eosinophilic leukemia (CEL), systemic mastocytosis, and myelodysplastic syndrome. Common side effects include vomiting, diarrhea, muscle pain, headache, and rash. Severe side effects may include fluid retention, gastrointestinal bleeding, bone marrow suppression, liver problems, and heart failure. Use during pregnancy may result in harm to the baby. Imatinib works by stopping the Bcr-Abl tyrosine-kinase. This can slow growth or result in programmed cell death of certain types of cancer cells. Imatinib was approved for medical use in the United States in 2001. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. A generic version became available in the UK as of 2017.

Medical uses Imatinib is used to treat chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) and a number of other malignancies. In 2006 the FDA expanded approved use to include dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP), myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative diseases (MDS/MPD), and aggressive systemic mastocytosis (ASM). Imatinib is considered to be a very effective treatment for CML, and has been shown to improve outcomes for people with this type of leukemia. It can also be used to treat some types of ALL, but is not considered a standard of care for ALL. In many cases, imatinib can induce a complete cytogenetic response (CCyR) and major molecular response (MMR) and many patients can have a long-term remission. It is also used to maintain remission in chronic phase CML patients. While imatinib is a very effective treatment for CML and some types of ALL, it is not a cure for leukemia. Instead, it is a 'chronic therapy' that helps to control the disease and prevent it from progressing. Some patients may need to continue taking imatinib for an extended period of time to maintain remission, and some patients may eventually require additional treatment options.

Chronic myelogenous leukemia The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved imatinib as first-line treatment for Philadelphia chromosome-positive CML, both in adults and children. The drug is approved in multiple contexts of Philadelphia chromosome-positive CML, including after stem cell transplant, in blast crisis, newly diagnosed, and accelerated phase. Due in part to the development of imatinib and related drugs, the five-year survival rate for people with chronic myeloid leukemia increased from 31% in 1993, to 59% in 2009, to 70% in 2016. By 2023, the five year survival rate for people with chronic myeloid leukemia had risen to 90%. Starting from 2011, it became clear that CML patients who continue to respond to imatinib have the same or almost the same life expectancy as the general population.

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors The FDA first granted approval for advanced GIST patients in 2002. On 1 February 2012, imatinib was approved for use after the surgical removal of KIT-positive tumors to help prevent recurrence. The drug is also approved in unresectable KIT-positive GISTs.

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) The FDA granted approval for the treatment of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) patients in 2006. Specifically adult patients with unresectable, recurrent and/or metastatic dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP). Prior to approval DFSP was considered unresponsive to chemotherapy treatments.

Other The FDA has approved imatinib for use in adults with relapsed or refractory Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL), myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative diseases associated with platelet-derived growth factor receptor gene rearrangements, aggressive systemic mastocytosis without or an unknown D816V c-KIT mutation, hypereosinophilic syndrome and/or chronic eosinophilic leukemia who have the FIP1L1-PDGFRα fusion kinase (CHIC2 allele deletion) or FIP1L1-PDGFRα fusion kinase negative or unknown, unresectable, recurrent and/or metastatic dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans. On 25 January 2013, Gleevec was approved for use in children with Ph+ ALL. For treatment of progressive plexiform neurofibromas associated with neurofibromatosis type I, early research has shown potential for using the c-KIT tyrosine kinase blocking properties of imatinib. There have been several phase 2 trials of imatinib for aggressive fibromatosis.

Contraindications and cautions The only known contraindication to imatinib is hypersensitivity to imatinib. Cautions include:

Hepatic impairment Risk of severe CHF or left ventricular dysfunction, especially in patients with comorbidities Pregnancy, risk of embryo-fetal toxicity Risk of fluid retention Risk of growth stunting in children or adolescents

Side effects

The most common side effects include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headaches, leg aches/cramps, fluid retention, visual disturbances, itchy rash, lowered resistance to infection, bruising or bleeding, loss of appetite, weight gain, reduced number of blood cells (neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, anemia), and edema.

Cardiotoxicity In some individuals, imatinib use was reported to be associated with left ventricular dysfunction which sometimes progressed to congestive cardiac failure despite an absence of prior heart disease. Clinical trials of imatinib did not report cardiac adverse effects, but had reported a notably high incidence of peripheral oedema (edema), with some cases classified as severe. Patient biopsies as well as mice treated with large doses of imatinib exhibited cellular signs of cardiotoxicity. Studies determined a potential pathway that led to cardiotoxicity, stemming from a stress response within the endoplasmic reticulum and the effects of c-ABL inhibition. Cardiotoxic effects appeared to mediated by inhibition of cytoplasmic ABL1 tyrosine kinase.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Imatinib

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Imatinib claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Imatinib before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Imatinib ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Imatinib

In research: Imatinib appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Imatinib in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Imatinib is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 3-Pyridyl compounds, 4-Methylpiperazin-1-yl compounds, Aminopyrimidines, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Imatinib outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Imatinib in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Imatinib means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Imatinib out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Imatinib in simple terms?

Why does Imatinib matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Imatinib?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Imatinib.