Randomized study on the treatment of @entity1860 ( XXXX ) in chronic phase with @entity1863 versus @entity1862 versus interferon-alpha.

@entity1862 @entity1 @entity1860 @entity1863
For palliative therapy during the chronic phase of @entity1860 @entity1863 has proved to be the drug of choice. During the past years @entity1862 and also interferon-alpha have gained increasing significance since they might prolong the duration of the chronic phase. In a multicenter study it is being determined, whether the use of @entity1862 or of interferon-alpha instead of @entity1863 prolongs the duration of the chronic phase of Philadelphia positive @entity1860 . Additional goals are the examination of whether the types of disease evolution and the terminal phases differ between the treatment groups, and the prospective recognition of prognostic criteria for the duration of the chronic phase of @entity1860 . By December 31, 1987, 326 @entity1860 - @entity1 had been randomized, 150 for @entity1863 , 150 for @entity1862 and 26 for interferon-alpha. The average age is 50 years. 59 @entity1 reached the end of the chronic phase, 55 died. The mean observation time of all @entity1 is 1.34 years. At present no significant difference in survival is recognizable between the @entity1863 and @entity1862 groups. Fewer adverse effects have been observed in the @entity1862 group. Philadelphia chromosome negative @entity1 show a higher average age and tend to have lower white blood cell and platelet counts. The number of @entity1 having received interferon-alpha is still too small to allow evaluation. This report intends to document organization and progress of this study which to our knowledge is, at present, the largest ongoing prospective multicenter study on the therapy of @entity1860 .
