You are here

CML, Glivec and Alcohol

Hi everyone,

I had no idea this site even existed until today so I'm happy to hear there's lots of fellow CMLer's here that might be able to help me answer a question that's been bugging me for ages but the doctors don't seem to be able to give me a definitive answer.

I was dx'd in Feb '09 with CML at the age of 25 and have been on Glivec pretty much from the very start of my treatment and its been great so far. My bcr-abl ratio quickly dropped to about 0.3 and then stuck there for ages. Until that point I hadn't really changed my lifestyle and still drunk regularly and perhaps a bit heavily too. So for the next 3 months I stopped drinking completely and sure enough when the next test came back the bcr-abl ratio had dropped to 0.04. I was really happy with this but the doctors insisted that it had nothing to do with alcohol so I started drinking again. This all coincided with me doing a ski season and as a seasonaire, I drunk far too much. I've now returned home only to find that the old bcr-abl ratio has crept back up to 0.3.

What I was wondering is if anyone has had similar experiences with alcohol and Glivec? Should I stop drinking all together or is a glass of wine a couple of nights a week going to alright for me?

Thanks

Rob

Hi Rob
I drink regularly, usually about 3 G&T's per night(home measures). I was DX in July 2008 and on Glivec 400mg. My BCR/ABL came down steadily until last year, and then stuck at 0.037% for a year. I still drink the same but my last test results this month, the Leukemia was "undectable", which was very pleasing. May have had a few more G&T's that night. Glivec is quite toxic, and as long as your liver function tests are OK ????
Best Regards
Tony

Hi Rob... welcome to this forum. I hope you continue to find it supportive. I agree that it is probably not the alcohol intake that will affect you cytogenetic response/pcr results for bcr/abl %... but as Tony says, your liver is the organ that processes both alcohol and imatinib/Glivec- so if you have quite a large intake of alcohol then you might be asking too much of your liver.
however... I would be surprised if your doctors had not mentioned concerns as part of your overall blood tests would indicate if your liver was under stress.

I am sure a couple of glasses of wine on one or two nights a week would be fine... but it does always depend on the individual tolerance.

Your bcr/abl levels might well stick at this present level- if so you might like to consider talking to your doctor about a. increasing the dose to 600mg or (preferably) changing to one of the 2nd generation drugs- either nilotinib or dasatinib. ~Some have found a deeper response when they switched from Glivec to one of the above.

How did you discover this site?

Best wishes,
Sandy

Thanks Tony, I like the sound of your G&T therapy, I might just have to try that! Congrats on the "undetectable", that's got to be a great relief. I think my LFT's have been pretty steady all along so I guess I haven't punished my liver that badly.

I think part of the problem is that I haven't seen my consultant since this last test came back meaning that we haven't had chance to discuss the available options and concerns. Do you really think that there's a significant benefit to be gained from switching treatment given that on Glivec I have no side effects and the bcr-abl ratio is relatively low?

Hi Rob,
stability of pcr ratios is the key rather than the actual numbers. Yes you have a good response to imatinib.
'ideally' a log reduction of 3 is considered (in general) place to be. That would mean you would be looking for 0.00?? stable over time to be sure of an optimal response-
I suggest you discuss this with your doctor- it might be that you next pcr shows another zero so no need to change.
This information is from the clinicians guidlines at- Eu Leukaemia Network... see link to their website on Links page.

Best wishes
Sandy

Hello Rob,

Alcohol in general is not very good for cancer. It contains a lot of sugar and has a rather high impact on your glycemia, which has a number of influences on your body, making it more easy for cancer to grow. I can't explain all the details in a short post like this, but if you are really interested, it is pretty well explained in "Anticancer: A new way of life" (http://www.amazon.com/Anticancer-New-Life-David-Servan-Schreiber/dp/0718...)

This book is a must read for anyone with cancer - or who wants to reduce risks of getting one. It explains in a clear language what cancer is, how it develops and what can be done to reduce the risks.

On the other hand, red wine contains (in addition to alcohol) a number of substances which are good for your health if you don't abuse them (some studies showed a reduced risk of cancer if you drink one glass of red wine per day but an increased risk of cancer if you drink more than that). So for me, the good balance between pleasure and reducing risk is 1 glass of red wine per day max.

Good luck.

Vincent
CML diagnosed in 2007
47 yo, under Glivec since 2007

We could wrap ourselves in cotton wool, or we could get on with enjoying life as much as we can...?!!!!

I too am at a stuck point with my results, but I really don't attribute that to drinking alcohol. Liver tests have never shown there to be any problem, so frankly, this is a matter of personal choice and above all, taking responsibility.

Anyway, each to their own I guess....

Vickie