On Feb. 1, 2002, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug Gleevec, formerly known as STI571, for treatment of gastrointestinal stromal tumors. The tumors are among the most deadly of intestinal cancers, as there was no other effective treatment besides early surgical removal to date.

Gleevec, manufactured by Novartis, was approved by the FDA for chronic- and acute-phase CML treatment in May 2001. Chronic myelogenous leukemia (also called CML or chronic granulocytic leukemia) is a slowly progressing blood and bone marrow disease that usually occurs during or after middle age, and rarely occurs in children.