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The dramatic efficacy of imatinib (Gleevec) in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients has made it a paradigm for targeted cancer therapies. Researchers now provide 5-year follow-up data on patients who were treated in the phase III, industry-sponsored, IRIS study. Eleven hundred six patients with newly diagnosed CML were randomized to daily oral imatinib or the combination of interferon-α plus cytarabine. The primary endpoint was event-free survival; secondary endpoints were complete hematologic, cytogenetic, and molecular responses. Crossover was allowed for inadequate response to or toxicity of originally assigned therapy; 65% of patients crossed over to imatinib, whereas only 3% crossed over to interferon-α plus cytarabine. As a result,…