Imatinib mesylate (sold as Gleevec in the USA and Glivec elsewhere) is the first effective treatment for gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). The drug is manufactured by Novartis Pharmaceuticals of Basel, Switzerland and New Hanover, New Jersey. It was approved by the FDA in February 2002 for use in metastatic or unresectable (inoperable) gastrointestinal stromal tumor. Imatinib (Gleevec) is the first marketed molecularly targeted therapy for cancer. This means that the drug affects only those cells that express highly specific targets, in contrast to conventional cancer chemotherapies that affect all fast-growing cells in the body. The targets of imatinib in GIST patients are two growth-factor receptors named KIT and PDGFRA. The drug is also used against chronic myelogenous leukemia, a disease in which affected patients have an abnormal protein called BCR-ABL that is targeted by imatinib. [1]
Information from Novartis Oncology
General Gleevec information
Coping with Gleevec side effects