title: Nilotinib is superior to imatinib as first-line therapy of chronic myeloid leukemia: the ENESTnd study.
abstract: Nilotinib (Tasigna(®)) is a more potent BCR-ABL inhibitor than imatinib and was designed to overcome imatinib's deficiencies. Nilotinib has significant efficacy in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in chronic phase, accelerated phase and blastic phase, following imatinib failure. Based on the results of the Evaluating Nilotinib Efficacy and Safety in Clinical Trials-Newly Diagnosed Patients (ENESTnd) study, the US FDA has granted accelerated approval of nilotinib for the treatment of adult patients with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive CML in chronic phase. Imatinib has changed our perceptions of the therapeutic power of targeted inhibition of a pathologically active kinase. Nilotinib, a designer agent built on the imatinib scaffold, has proven superior to its template agent by every significant surrogate marker we use in monitoring CML. Nilotinib's clinical superiority over imatinib, as demonstrated by the ENESTnd study, has established it as an agent that we believe is a significant further step towards the cure of CML.
authors.affiliation: HRB Clinical Research Facility, National University of Ireland, Galway & Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. frankgiles@aol.com
authors.forename: Francis J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Giles
authors.forename: Gianantonio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rosti
authors.forename: Photis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Beris
authors.forename: Richard E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Clark
authors.forename: Philipp
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: le Coutre
authors.forename: Francois-Xavier
authors.initials: FX
authors.lastname: Mahon
authors.forename: Juan-Luis
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Steegmann
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Valent
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Saglio
mesh_terms: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001549:Benzamides; D006801:Humans; D000068877:Imatinib Mesylate; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000188:drug therapy*; D010879:Piperazines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011743:Pyrimidines / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D001549:Benzamides; D010879:Piperazines; D047428:Protein Kinase Inhibitors; D011743:Pyrimidines; D000068877:Imatinib Mesylate; C498826:nilotinib