A drug approved to treat certain types of cancer has shown promising results in the treatment of patients with scleroderma, according to results from an open-label Phase II trial. While the drug's efficacy must be demonstrated in a Phase III trial, the gold standard for testing a drug, researchers are optimistic that Gleevec (imatinib) could potentially be a weapon against the chronic connective tissue disease for which a treatment has remained elusive. "This trial showed Gleevec has acceptable safety and tolerability, and there are hints of efficacy or suggestions the drug may work," said Robert Spiera, M.D., an associate attending rheumatologist at Hospital for Special Surgery who led the study. "This study strongly suggests that a randomized placebo-controlled trial is warranted." The study appeared online on March 11, 2011, in Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. Systemic scleroderma affects not only the skin, but also underlying blood vessels, and often muscles and joints, as well as the gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, lungs and heart. According to the Scleroderma Foundation, roughly 300,000 individuals have scleroderma in the United States and roughly a third of these have the systemic kind. The disease typically strikes in the prime of patients' lives, when they are 30-50 years old. To date, there has never been a drug that has been shown to be effective for scleroderma. For the study, investigators at Hospital for Special Surgery enrolled 30 patients with diffuse scleroderma, a widespread severe form of the disease, and gave them 400 mg of Gleevec per day. Patients were evaluated monthly for 12 months during treatment and were seen for follow-up three months after discontinuing the drug.Login Or Register To Read Full Story