Therapeutic Note(s)

IMATINIB MESYLATE It is recommended that pharmacists inform their patients when a different brand of imatinib is dispensed to support appropriate monitoring. In patients with CML, regular response montoring is recommended, particularly when therapy is modified, to detect any changes in response so that actions may be implemented as appropriate. 400mg Tab (IMATINIB MESYLATE) These products must be prescribed based on the following criteria: 1) For treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) in chronic phase. The initial dose is 400mg/day. The dose may be increased up to a maximum of 800mg/day in patients who do not have an adequate hematologic response at 3 months or cytogenetic response at 1 year; or if there has been loss of a previously achieved hematologic and/or cytogenetic response. Note: The ministry will only reimburse, in a patient's lifetime, any two (2) of the oral Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors (TKIs)* used for chronic phase CML. (* TKIs: Imatinib, Nilotinib, or Dasatinib). 2) For treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML) in blast phase or accelerated phase. The initial dose is 600mg/day. The dose may be increased to a maximum of 800mg/day in patients who do not have an adequate hematologic response at 3 months or cytogenetic response at 1 year; or loss of a previously achieved hematologic and/or cytogenetic response.